Winner Of Usman Vs. Chimaev Gets Title Shot

The winner of UFC 294’s middleweight co-main event between former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and Khamzat Chimaev will earn the victor a shot at current UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland, according to UFC CEO Dana White.

“That is an absolute fact,” White said on a recent episode of The Pat McAfee Show. “The fact that these guys are taking this fight on short notice, (the winner) will get the next shot at the title barring injuries and other things that can possibly happen.”

Neither man is currently ranked inside the top 15 of the official UFC middleweight rankings.

The UFC initially booked Chimaev against Paulo Costa for the UFC 294 co-main event. UFC 294 takes place on Saturday, October 21 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. That fight fell through after the UFC ruled Costa out of the bout following elbow surgery. Usman stepped in shortly after that announcement.

Chimaev is ranked No. 4 in the UFC’s official welterweight rankings. The 29-year-old sports a career MMA record of 12-0. He is coming off a September 2022 catchweight submission win over Kevin Holland at UFC 279. Chimaev was booked to face Nate Diaz at welterweight on that card, but Chimaev came in at 180 pounds on weigh-in day. The card was then reshuffled, and Chimaev was matched up against Holland, while Diaz faced Tony Ferguson in the welterweight main event.

Usman, the former UFC welterweight champion, enters UFC 294 after back-to-back losses to Leon Edwards. Usman lost his 170-pound crown to Edwards via a head-kick knockout at UFC 278. He dropped the rematch at UFC 286 in March of this year via a majority decision. Before his loss, Usman had defended the title five times. The 36-year-old is ranked No. 1 in the UFC’s welterweight weight class. He has a career record of 20-3.

Usman defended the UFC welterweight title five times during his championship reign. UFC 294 marks the former champs first fight at middleweight.

Sean Strickland is the current UFC middleweight champion. He claimed the title with a September 2023 unanimous decision win over Israel Adesanya. Adesanya is the No. 1 ranked fighter in the UFC’s 185-pound weight class. Dricus Du Plessis is ranked No. 2.

UFC 294 is an early card in the States. The ESPN+ pay-per-view card begins at 2:00 p.m. ET, following prelims on ESPN+ at 10:00 a.m. ET.