“The only thing I like about Chimaev is that he sells fights,” MMAJunkie quoted the American as saying. “For some reason people like him a hell of a lot, or don’t like him, I don’t know. To me, he’s a damn big check – he sells a lot of fights. People pay to see him, but he doesn’t deserve this fight.”
“He didn’t deserve it, but we’re here, so give it to me. I’ll fight him for five rounds even though he didn’t deserve it. He barely won by decision against a welterweight who got up off the couch.”
Kamaru Usman took the fight with Hamzat Chimaev on short notice, replacing Paulo Costa who pulled out due to illness, while Sean Strickland took the championship belt from Israel Adesanya early last month, sensationally defeating the Nigerian by unanimous decision.
It should be noted that the American has experience of joint training with the Chechen fighter, who held one stage of a training camp in his gym.
The challenger status of Khamzat Chimaev after the UFC 294 tournament was officially confirmed by the head of the organization Dana White.