Kamaru Usman provided an update on his fighting career and the rumored matchup against Khamzat Chimaev.
On March 18, Usman lost a majority decision in an immediate welterweight title bout rematch against Leon Edwards. After taking a few months to recover, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ voiced his excitement to bounce back and work toward regaining the 185-pound throne.
Usman and Chimaev have been rumored to be matched up over the last month. The only problem was that ‘Borz’ drastically missed the welterweight limit in his last fight, leading to him most likely moving up to the middleweight division.
During a Q&A at Internation Fight Week, Kamaru Usman was asked for an update on what’s next in his career. He had this to say:
“I’m good. I’m just training, falling back in love with my routine of training. The last couple of years was just kinda chaotic, here and there, here and there, but falling in love with that routine again. Just like you, I thought I was gonna be fighting Khamzat [Chimaev] too. We’ll see what happens.”
Chimaev last fought in September 2022, defeating Kevin Holland with a first-round submission at a catchweight of 180 pounds. ‘Borz’ was initially scheduled to fight Nate Diaz before missing weight by seven and a half pounds. It’s still unclear what division ‘Borz’ plans to fight in next, but Dana White and the UFC have voiced their preference for him to fight at 185 pounds.
Kamaru Usman blames ‘logistical things’ on Khamzat Chimaev’s end for their fight not materializing
The primary issue between Kamaru Usman vs. Khamzat Chimaev not materializing seems to be the weight limit. Chimaev might be able to make 170 pounds, while Usman isn’t willing to fight at 185 pounds. During the same Q&A session, Usman had this to say about why the matchup hasn’t been officially signed:
“There’s a lot of logistical things [preventing the fight against Chimaev], not necessarily on my end. Why it didn’t happen? Like I said, I’m up here, looking good, feeling good. I’m ready to fight.”
If Kamaru Usman vs. Khamzat Chimaev doesn’t happen, various opponent options are waiting for both top-tier fighters. Usman will likely be one win away from a welterweight title shot, while Chimaev needs to establish himself as a title contender by taking out a top-ranked 185-pounder.
Only time will tell if Kamaru Usman and Khamzat Chimaev return to the Octagon before the end of 2023.