Khamzat Chimaev-Kamaru Usman Clash to Serve as Middleweight Title Eliminator

It seems Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis won't be getting a shot at the middleweight title any time soon.

Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White confirmed that the winner of the recently revealed middleweight clash between former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman (20-3) and Khamzat Chimaev (12-0) at UFC 294 will be next in line for a title shot against Sean Strickland.

Initially, “Borz” was slated to face Paulo Costa at UFC 294 before a staph infection in Costa’s elbow derailed the bout. That opened the door for former welterweight king Kamaru Usman to make his middleweight debut against Chimaev on just 10 days' notice. Considering the last-minute reshuffling and Usman's championship mettle, fans speculated the newly formed matchup would serve as a middleweight title eliminator.

Addressing the topic in a recent appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” the UFC head honcho made the rumors official.

“That is an absolute fact. 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.”

Usman is coming off two consecutive losses to long-time rival Leon Edwards. “The Nigerian Nightmare” has been out of action since UFC 286, which took place in March.

Chimaev, on the other hand, hasn’t stepped inside the Octagon since September 2022, when he defeated Kevin Holland in a last-minute catchweight bout at UFC 279. While “Borz” was initially set to face Nate Diaz in a welterweight bout, the Russian-born Swede missed weight for the contest by 7.5 pounds, which led to a number of fights being reshuffled and his move to middleweight.