“Since day one when I get to the UFC, everyone spoke about Khamzat and Usman and our wrestling skills and our striking – all of these things. He’s an old version, I’m new. Like iPhones come out – he’s like iPhone 5 and I’m like iPhone Pro,” Chimaev joked. “If there is gold there, of course he’s going to cut the weight, but he couldn’t take the belt so that’s why he asked [to step in]. I’m Khamzat Chimaev. That’s why he comes up to fight to fight me. The guy comes for money, and the money fight is me.”
Chimaev knows that the public applauds Usman’s decision to step in, and while that’s well deserved, he also knows that coming in on short notice could potentially give Usman the ability to point to his lack of preparation if he were to lose.
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“The guy comes just to make money,” Chimaev said. “Of course, he comes to win, everyone comes to the fight to win, but he has all the excuses.”
A win over Usman – and a dominant one like we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from Chimaev – would certainly skyrocket him to the top of the list for title fights at both welterweight and middleweight.
