Respect and Rivalry: Khamzat Chimaev’s Admiration for Usman as He Gears Up for Whittaker Showdown

Khamzat Chimaev has nothing but respect for Kamaru Usman.

On Saturday, ‘Borz’ will return to the Octagon for the first time in a year when he meets Robert Whittaker in a potential middleweight title eliminator at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi.

The fight will come almost exactly one year to the day that Chimaev last fought. That came at UFC 294 when he went toe-to-toe with former welterweight world champion Kamaru Usman. Borz’ came out on top via a majority decision, moving to 13-0 in his mixed martial arts career while handing ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ his third-straight loss inside the Octagon.

Ahead of this weekend’s high-stakes scrap with ‘The Reaper’ at Etihad Arena, Chimaev offered his honest thoughts on Usman, calling him one of the best fighters he’s ever had the privilege of competing against.

“A lot of different things, makes a different mindset and a lot of good things,” Chimaev told Shakiel Mahjouri of CBS Sports. “Kamaru is one of the best guys who I’ve faced. He’s been No.1 pound-for-pound. Robert [Whittaker] hasn’t been there yet. Me too.

“People forget who was Kamaru Usman. When I beat him, everyone was talking about he’s not that good and this that, but that guy is crazy good, man. If I take somebody’s back like I took his — he has a champion’s mindset. He didn’t give [up]. He had five minutes where he defended his neck, but this is not that easy.”

Usman backs khamzat chimaev to come out on top against Robert Whittaker

Having gone three hard-fought rounds with the undefeated Chechen monster, it should come as no surprise that Usman is backing Chimaev to come out on top against Whittaker in the UFC 308 co-main event.

“I don’t think you’re too harsh. I think a lot of casual fans feel the same way that you feel,” Usman said on his Pound-4-Pound podcast. “And Robert Whittaker is a guy that can grapple, or stop you from grappling, a guy that can put together the combinations that potentially get you out of there. I think Khamzat Chimaev is just special. If he is able to get his hands on you and drag you down to the ground, I think he is able to impose his will down there and potentially get that finish…

“Let me just keep it short… I love Robert Whittaker. I think Robert Whittaker is super talented, especially what he just went out there and did in disposing of Ikram. But if I had to choose, I’m gonna go with Khamzat Chimaev.”