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Sports shares emotions from the co-main event of the 294th number tournament of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in which Khamzat Chimaev, representing the UAE, not without difficulty defeated the American Kamaru Usman and, having retained perfect record 13-0, advanced to title match.
UFC in Abu Dhabi — Brazilian horror You can’t call the last event any other way! After all, two representatives of Brazil were forced to withdraw, almost disrupting the most anticipated tournament of the year. And if Charles Oliveira dropped out due to a deep cut above his eyebrow, then Paulo Costa's problems were much more serious. Despite the fact that staphylococcus (in the literal sense of the word) ate away at the middleweight’s elbow and it came down to surgery, Borrachinha was ready to fight the sincerely hated Khamzat. If you believe Costa’s statements, he wanted to turn a blind eye to the disease, but the doctors decided not to risk the athlete’s health and did not allow Paulo to fight.
The terrible pictures quickly went viral on social networks. What complaints can there be against poor Borrachinha?
According to most fans, replacing Costa with former pound-for-pound number one (P4P) Usman only made the UFC 294 card better. I wanted to argue, because the story of the feud between Khamzat and Paulo was cool.
And after what happened in Abu Dhabi, only a few will agree with the joyful comments of the fans under the announcement of the fight Usman VS Chimaev.
It seems that Usman came out to collect the check. Before the start of the fight, the situation became tense to the limit: after a forbidden blow by Magomed Ankalaev, the fight the Russian and Brazilian Johnny Walker were declared invalid, and the athletes almost fought after the verdict. Even UFC CEO Dana White came out to reassure the fighters.
An electrifying atmosphere initially reigned at the Chimaev vs. Usman fight. The favorite extended his hand, but the US representative did not respond to the traditional greeting, for which he immediately paid. A long takedown attempt from Borz was successful, and Kamaru was unable to break free of his opponent's control for most of the round. Chimaev continued to declassify his opponent until the end of the five minutes and was very close to putting his hand under the unfortunate American’s chin and ending the carnage with a choke.
In the second round, the light went out: Chimaev seemed to get tired and slowed down. Until the last minute, the owner of the cage did not risk taking the fight to the ground, while his passive opponent was looking for an opportunity to shock Khamzat in the standing position… Perhaps these were the most boring five minutes in Borz’s career.
In the final round, the fighters perked up briefly. After unsuccessful takedown attempts, Chimaev missed several alarming shots, but soon put Usman on the floor again. The Nigerian Nightmare (after three losses in a row, this nickname does not at all correspond to the once formidable champion) freed himself only towards the end of the fight and tried to “decide” with one blow, but Borz survived the exchange.
An unexpected majority decision (despite four transfers and seven minutes of control on the ground, one of the judges somehow counted 28-28), and Chimaev’s hand is raised above the octagon. From which, as the triumphant himself admitted, Khamzat did not experience any emotions.
The UFC promises a title chance. After winning the candidate's fight, Chimaev was one step away from the coveted belt. The talkative American Sean Strickland will defend the title from Borz's encroachments. Khamzat benefits from such a confrontation: the Californian, unlike the 29-year-old native of Chechnya, is far from a fighter. So, stylistically, the title fight may resemble the epoch-making confrontation between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor.
We have no doubt that Chimaev will enter it as confident as possible in his abilities. Even before the fight with Usman, Borz stated that Strickland was not his opponent and that, compared to his former sparring partner, he was “in the stratosphere.” A victory over Sean will not only bring Borz the long-awaited belt, it will start the construction of a fundamental legacy and will be a serious acceleration in the pursuit of Khabib.