UFC 294 Former champion Kamaru Usman the to take on Khamzat Chimaev
Due to a staph infection, Paulo Costa will not be able to participate against Khamzat Chimaev in the co-feature of the pay-per-view event in Abu Dhabi as originally planned.
Chimaev (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) will still compete on the program but will now square off against former ufc With only 10 days’ notice, Kamaru Usman, the welterweight champion, will fill in for the middleweight contest.
Usman, 36, climbs up to middleweight after losing consecutive fights for the welterweight championship against the reigning champion Leon Edwards. Usman (20-3 MMA, 15-2 UFC) had a long reign over the 170-pound division and had made five title defenses fighting and winning before the straight defeats.He last participated in a competition at UFC 286 in March.
Chimaev, 29, has gone even longer without taking part in a battle. His most recent triumph was against Kevin Holland at UFC 279 in September. Prior to the fight, Chimaev was underweight. Chimaev ultimately decided to move up to middleweight, where he already has two victories in the UFC, after some conversation between his team and the UFC brass.
A few weeks after undergoing an initial operation for a right arm bursa, Costa (14-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC), who is now in Abu Dhabi, also disclosed in a since-deleted social media post that he will need to have a second elbow procedure.
The UFC 294 bout schedule has been modified to include:
.Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski – for lightweight title
.Kamaru Usman vs. Khamzat Chimaev
. Magomed Ankalaev vs. Johnny Walker
.Ikram Aliskerov vs. Nassourdine Imavov
.Muin Gafurov vs. Said Nurmagomedov
.Tim Elliott vs. Muhammad Mokaev
.Trevor Peek vs. Mohammad Yahya
.Javid Basharat vs. Victor Henry
.Abu Azaitar vs. Sedriques Dumas
.Mike Breeden vs. Anshul Jubli
.Mike Breeden vs. Anshul Jubli
.Muhammad Naimov vs. Nathaniel Wood
.Viktoriia Dudakova vs. Jinh Yu Frey
.Shara Magomedov vs. Bruno Silva
