“Everyone says Usman has no chance at short notice,” said Gadzhiev, summarizing the week’s results on his Youtube channel. “There are chances, a lot of them. Probably Chimaev has a little bit more chance, but Kamaru Usman is a very serious test. Yes, he hasn’t been preparing, he’s coming out on short notice, although I hear he had some fight planned”
“If the fight was a five-round fight, I would generally say Usman is the favorite. Because I still have fresh memories of how bad Hamzat looked in a full three-round fight. And then I had a feeling, I haven’t gotten rid of it yet, that he’s not a five-round fighter. And he doesn’t have that kind of experience.”
“And Kamaru is a beaten wolf, many times fought in five-round fights, so here the three-round fight format is in Hamzat’s favor, let him use this advantage. For Usman it’s, first of all, an opportunity to earn money, because he agreed to this fight for a good check, and secondly, to get back into the title race”
Last week, Kamaru Usman agreed on short notice to replace the eliminated Paulo Costa and fight Hamzat Chimaev at UFC 294, which takes place Oct. 21 in Abu Dhabi. The bout will take place in the middleweight division and the winner will have the opportunity to face current division champion Sean Strickland.