UFC 294 event was co-headlined by a middleweight contest featuring Khamzat Chimaev taking on Kamaru Usman.
Kamaru Usman (20-4 MMA) was returning to action for the first time since losing a majority decision to Leon Edwards in a fight for the promotion’s welterweight world title at UFC 286. That setback had marked ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’s’ second in a row, as he was previously knocked out by ‘Rocky’ with a head kick at UFC 278.
Meanwhile, Khamzat Chimaev (13-0 MMA) was fighting for the first time since running through Kevin Holland thirteen months ago at UFC 279. ‘Borz’ had gone 6-0 inside of the Octagon ahead of today’s matchup, with five of those six wins coming by way of stoppage.
Tonight’s UFC 294 co-main event resulted in a closely contested battle. Khamzat Chimaev had a dominant opening round, but Kamaru Usman was able to come back strong in round two thanks to a good volume of good punches and kicks.
In round three, Usman again got off to a hot start, but it was a takedown from ‘Borz’ with two minutes remaining that seemingly won him the fight and earned him a shot at reigning middleweight champion Sean Strickland.
Official UFC 294 Result: Khamzat Chimaev def. Kamaru Usman by majority decision (29-27, 29-27, 28-28)
Check out how the pros reacted to ‘Khamzat Chimaev vs. Kamaru Usman’ below:
Post-fight reactions to Khamzat Chimaev defeating Kamaru Usman at UFC 294: