Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman wants Khamzat Chimaev to take things seriously.
The pair have been rumored to fight for months, but nothing has come to fruition as of yet. That's despite the expectation being that Chimaev will return to action at UFC 294 which takes place October in Abu Dhabi.
Recently, Usman claimed logistical issues on Chimaev's end were the reason why a fight hasn't been made official. And in a more recent guest appearance during UFC 290, “The Nigerian Nightmare” revealed his belief that the only thing holding Chimaev up is cutting the weight to 170 pounds.
“I see a lot of people [that have] obviously heard about the whole Khamzat situation,” Usman said (via MMA Mania). “Everyone wants to see that. I went into Dana’s office and said, ‘Hey, okay, this is the guy you guys are saying is the next guy in a division. Okay, give me that guy.’ I said that to Dana.
“You know, at the end of the day, I have been — and still am — the boogeyman of this division. I asked for the guy. If you want to fight — you want to be a champion — cut the f—king weight and come fight…. I think he’s a really, really good fighter. Very, very good fighter. I like the guy.
“But hey, you want to fight? Cut the weight, and let’s fight. Be disciplined. He doesn’t want to do that anymore. You know, he’s got money now. He’s loving life, and he’s living good. He don’t want to cut the weight. He wants to eat, and he wants to move the goalposts for him. No, [if] you want to be champion. This is the gold standard right here, cut the weight and let’s make it happen.”
Chimaev would respond by posting a video on Twitter, calling for Usman to fight him at 185 pounds.
— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) July 9, 2023
In fairness to Chimaev, it doesn't seem like he'll be allowed to compete at 170 pounds anymore — especially after the UFC 279 fiasco last September.
However, Kamaru Usman has always maintained that he wants to continue fighting at 170 and with UFC president Dana White previously stating he was against a catchweight bout, it looks like a compromise has to be made.
Either Usman will have to move up or Chimaev will have to convince the brass to let him fight at welterweight again.
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