Khamzat Chimaev‘s aura of invincibility didn’t quite live up to Kamaru Usman‘s expectations.
Usman, stepping in on short notice of less than 10 days, faced Chimaev in a middleweight clash at UFC 294 last October. Despite a challenging first round, Usman staged a comeback effort, yet ultimately came up short, losing via majority decision.
Reflecting on his encounter with the undefeated Chimaev, former welterweight champion Usman noted that a stronger sense of self-belief might have tilted the fight in his favor.
During his “Pound 4 Pound” podcast with Henry Cejudo, Usman shared:
“You get in those type of fights and those positions to where you build something up in your mind and in your head. And everyone’s now – especially now in this machine of the UFC, of MMA – you build him up in your head.
“Then you get in there and you go, ‘That wasn’t special.’ There was nothing different that I haven’t seen. Had I given it a little bit more, had I have given myself a little bit more credit, that would have turned out totally different.”
In the initial round, Usman found himself taken down and placed in precarious positions by Chimaev. Nevertheless, as the fight progressed, he managed to fend off Chimaev’s grappling and even gained the upper hand in some striking exchanges. Regrettably for Usman, his efforts weren’t enough to sway the judges in his favor.
“We get out there, and right away he takes a shot, and I’m just like, ‘Oh, sh*t. “He’s a little bigger than I thought, but nothing special. He’s on top and I’m like, ‘These strikes don’t really hurt. Nothing special.’
“Then I got up to my feet, and it was the first punch I hit him with, I’m like, ‘Oh, OK. I can do this.’ But it was after the end of the fight, it was just in my head saying, ‘Why? Why did I doubt myself. Don’t do that again.’”
Chimaev swiftly rebutted, reminding Usman of the course of their bout.
https://x.com/KChimaev/status/1768511206330114246?s=20
You can watch Usman discussing the matter with Cejudo in the video below:
