It was Dana White himself who announced it! The winner of the fight between Khamzat Chimaev and Kamaru Usman will have a surprise.
And this surprise is a chance for the middleweight title! As you know, yesterday was full of events. First of all, Charles Oliveira, injured, gave way to Alexander Volkanovksi in the main event of UFC 294 against Islam Makhachev, for the lightweight title.
Then, at the very end of the day, it was Paulo Costa’s turn to abandon his fight against Khamzat Chimaev due to staph in his elbow. He now has to undergo surgery a third time.
And finally, in the process, there was the officialization of the fight between Khamzat Chimaev and Kamaru Usman made by Dana White. The UFC president immediately told Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports that the winner of this fight would be offered a shot at the middleweight title!
Then White added about this fight:
“Who knows how they will approach the fight, but you would think that with the Costa fight, Khamzat probably had to think about taking him to the ground… With Usman and his wrestling, it could turn into a stand-up war!”
Current middleweight champion Sean Strickland has no official opponent yet, but Dricus Du Plessis seemed to be the closest to getting his chance. Which apparently won’t be the case unless Strickland wants to fight fast. Same for Israel Adesanya, who will not have immediate revenge.
