
Khamzat
Chimaev found it difficult to train for his fight against
Kamaru
Usman.
Chimaev has only gone the distance thrice in his career – against
Usman, Gilbert
Burns, and Dricus Du
Plessis. While Chimaev dominated Du Plessis to win the
middleweight title, Usman and Burns made him look human. Chimaev
was cut open en route to his unanimous decision win over Burns in
2022. Meanwhile, “Borz” earned a majority decision win over Usman,
which many believe could have gone the other way in a five-round
fight.
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Chimaev recently revealed that the Usman fight was harder than the
Burns fight. While Chimaev doesn’t find the actual fight hard, it
is the training camp that takes a toll. Chimaev had just shifted to
Abu Dhabi from the Allstars Training Center in Sweden ahead of his
clash against Usman. With only a few friends around and the lack of
a proper team, training for the Usman matchup was hard for
Chimaev.
Unfamiliar Surroundings
„Every fight is hard because you train hard,” Chimaev said at a
recent seminaf. “In the cage it’s not crazy hard. 15 minutes, 25
minutes, it goes fast in the cage. But because I moved from Sweden
to Abu Dhabi before Usman’s fight, that’s why it was harder for me
to train. I didn’t have a good team around me, just some friends.
That’s why that fight was difficult for me.”
Chimaev won the middleweight title against Du Plessis at
UFC 319 last August. Chimaev is now teasing a move up to light
heavyweight to challenge Alex
Pereira for the title.
Khamzat
Chimaev says the Kamaru
Usman fight was tougher than the Gilbert
Burns fight 🔥😲„I moved from Sweden to Abu Dhabi, that’s why it was harder for me
to train. I didn’t have a good team around me, just some friends –
that’s why that fight was difficult for me.“Via:… pic.twitter.com/8OitsoPub4
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA)
January 17, 2026