May 22, (THEWILL) – UFC President, Dana White, has weighed in on the potential clash between former UFC Welterweight Champion, Kamaru Usman and rising star, Khamzat Chimaev.
Usman recently revealed that he has rediscovered his passion for fighting, fueling speculation about a showdown with Chimaev. However, the UFC seems to be hesitant about making the fight happen.
Usman expressed his desire for the bout to be fought at a catchweight, but Dana White, known for his criticism of catchweight bouts, stated that he would only consider booking the fight if it took place at welterweight or even middleweight. Speaking at the post-fight press conference for UFC Vegas 73, White remained noncommittal about the Usman-Chimaev matchup.
“It’s a fight that Usman wants, that’s no secret,” said White. “Usman literally came to the office to lobby for that fight. I told him I love him. Usman is one of the best guys we’ve ever worked with. I love working with the guy. Look at all the things he’s accomplished. I don’t do catchweights. Don’t do it. So, you know how Khamzat is. If you talk trash to Khamzat, he’s going to go right at it with you and doesn’t care who he fights and all that stuff.
“I don’t know. Obviously, we’ve been making a lot of announcements lately, but we haven’t made that announcement yet because we don’t have the fight done yet. But we’re working on stuff for Khamzat.”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
