Khamzat Chimaev suffered a major injury during his majority decision victory over former welterweight kingpin Kamaru Usman at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi earlier this month. Shortly after the win, Chimaev told various media outlets that he believed he broke his right hand during the opening round of the bout, which made it largely inactive for the remainder of the encounter.
Chimaev’s manger updated about his injury
Now Chimaev’s manager, Majdi Shammas, informed ESPN that the fighter’s hand was not broken during the event, but his ligament was torn. Khamzat will have to wear a brace for the next four weeks before evaluating whether surgery is needed. “Borz” was initially scheduled to face former middleweight title challenger Paulo Costo at UFC 294. However, Costa was ruled out of the event with a bursitis injury and Usman stepped in at short notice.
Chimaev in line to face Strickland
With the win over “The Nigerian Nightmare,” Chimaev is in line to face Shawn Strickland for the middleweight title. Although the current middleweight champion has rejected Chimaev’s claim to the title, UFC officials are hell-bent on making the fight happen. Chimaev’s current MMA record is 13-0, and with his dominant wins in two weight classes, the 29-year-old has become a known fighter in the promotion.
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Although the judges’ score cards showed a majority decision victory for Khamzat against Usman, many in the MMA world believe that “The Nigerian Nightmare” did enough to earn the victory at UFC 294. In the early round, Chimaev dominated Usman and threatened legitimate submissions for the entire round. However, the following two rounds were very close.
The Bantamweight Champion praised Usman
UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley believes Usman is a gangster taking a fight on short notice against an incredible fighter like “Borz”. Furthermore, he hinted that the fans’ outcry regarding the official fight outcome may not be unwarranted.
“Kamaru Usman is a gangster. We always knew he was a gangster, but for him to take that fight on short notice and go the distance with Chimaev, and some people were saying, I mean, that first round was definitely 10-8, but let’s pretend it wasn’t, and then Kamaru, well, you give him the next two rounds, he could have won the fight. Crazy,” said O’Malley.
