Kamaru Usman had an intriguing response when asked if he thought Khamzat Chimaev was special.
At UFC 294, Usman faced Chimaev on short notice in a middleweight bout after previously suffering back-to-back losses against Leon Edwards. The former UFC welterweight champion showcased a valiant effort before the judges scored the fight for ‘Borz’ by majority decision.
Usman recently started a new podcast with Henry Cejudo called Pound 4 Pound. Chael Sonnen appeared as their latest guest and asked ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ about Chimaev’s reputation of being a ‘special’ fighter. Usman responded by saying this about the undefeated middleweight:
“You get those types of fights and those positions to where you build something up in your mind, in your head. Especially now in this machine of the UFC of MMA; you build them 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.”
Watch Usman’s comments about Chimaev below:
Chael Sonnen asked Kamaru Usman if Khamzat Chimaev was special. His response:
“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 given myself more… pic.twitter.com/xHmQ6kmzm7
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) March 14, 2024
Kamaru Usman admits being an underdog against Khamzat Chimaev made him second-guess himself
Kamaru Usman was once considered the number one pound-for-pound fighter on the planet. Although he maintains his confidence, the former welterweight king questioned himself after suffering his first two UFC losses against Leon Edwards.
During the latest episode of Pound 4 Pound, Usman had this to say about his mindset heading into the Khamzat Chimaev matchup:
“You’re looking at comments, and you see 99 comments that says you’re the greatest. It’s just like wrestling. We don’t remember all the people we beat, but you remember those tough ones in the finals that you lost. It’s kind of one of those situations to where I haven’t heard that [I was an underdog] in a while. Of course coming off losing my title, you want to access everything. Do I change? Do I do this? Do I do that? Am I really that guy? Am I not that guy? Am I big enough? Am I not big enough?”
Kamaru Usman has previously called for a five-round rematch against Khamzat Chimaev after fans suggested he deserved the win at UFC 294. There’s also a possibility that ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ returns to welterweight and attempts to regain UFC gold later this year.
Watch the full episode of Pound 4 Pound below:
