Joe Rogan Forced to Come Clean on Khamzat Chimaev After UFC 294 Star’s Failure to Finish Kamaru Usman in Close Decision Win

Not all wins are created equal. While Islam Makhachev was able to beat Alexander Volkanovski in an emphatic first-round knockout, Khamzat Chimaev did not fare as well. His opponent, Kamaru Usman, was stepping into the fight on short notice. ‘Borz’ was originally scheduled to face Paulo Costa, who was forced to pull out after an unexpected elbow surgery.

And Usman, the former welterweight champion, put on a competitive fight. Chimaev won via a majority decision at the end of three rounds. And Joe Rogan felt this revealed something important about the undefeated Chimaev.

Joe Rogan thinks Chimaev hype takes a hit despite Usman’s victory

On the JRE Fight Companion for UFC 294, Joe Rogan‘s friends, Brendan Schaub, Eddie Bravo, and Bryan Callen joined Rogan. After the Usman – Chimaev co-main event fight concluded, Schaub asked Rogan if the majority decision “kind of slow the hype train down on Khamzat?”

Rogan agreed, “Yeah it does a little bit. It slows it down a little bit. But it does show he’s legit,” he said.

The fight was a grueling affair, but ‘Borz’ looked a different fighter from the second round on, leading many to speculate he might have gotten tired. Chimaev took down Usman in the first round, where the fight remained for the remainder of the round. Usman defended well on his back and even managed to slam the Chechen to the ground at one point. However, the first round firmly belonged to ‘Borz’.

Chimaev slowed down in the second round and chose to strike with Usman. Usman delivered some hard strikes. Usman’s finest round was the third and final one, in which he increased the pressure and volume of his striking. He injured Chimaev with some combinations, but Chimaev halted him midway through the round with another takedown. The two men engaged in a wild flurry at the end of the fight. The judges scored the bout 29-27, 29-27, and 28-28 for Chimaev to hand him his thirteenth consecutive win.

Chimaev to fight for the middleweight title next, Usman’s future plans unclear

With his victory over the former welterweight champion, Chimaev is set to fight Sean Strickland for the middleweight title next. Usman, devastated after his third consecutive defeat, will not get an immediate rematch. But even UFC CEO Dana White admitted that it would have been a different fight if it had been five rounds.

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Sean Strickland, with his peculiar yet effective version of the Philly Shell defense and high-volume fighting style, poses a stylistic challenge to Chimaev. Usman’s future, however, remains uncertain. He can stay at middleweight and hope for a Chimaev rematch regardless of whether Chechen wins his upcoming bout against Strickland. Or he could go down to welterweight and ask Dana White for a fight against the loser of the Colby Covington vs. Leon Edwards fight, something the UFC boss would be more amenable to after Usman saved his co-main event.

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