Usman vs Chimaev

Who won Usman vs Chimaev?

Khamzat Chimaev beat Kamaru Usman by majority decision in their 3 round contest during the co-main event of UFC 294, on Saturday 21st October 2023 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

The scorecards were announced as 29-27, 29-27, 28-28 in favor of the winner Khamzat Chimaev.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Middleweight division, which meant the weight limit was 185 pounds (13.2 stone or 83.9 KG).

Usman vs Chimaev stats

Kamaru Usman stepped into the octagon with a record of 20 wins, 3 losses and 0 draws, 9 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 1 by submission.

Khamzat Chimaev made his way to the cage with an unblemished record of 12 wins, 0 losses, and 0 draws, 6 of those wins coming by knock out and 5 by submission.

Kamaru Usman's UFC record stood at 15-3-0, while Khamzat Chimaev's came in at 7-0-0.

The stats suggested Chimaev had a slight advantage in power over Usman, with a 50% knock out percentage over Usman's 45%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Chimaev had a massive advantage over Usman, boasting a 42% submission rate over Usman's 5%.

Kamaru Usman was the older man by 7 years, at 36 years old.

Chimaev had a height advantage of 2 inches over Usman. Despite this, he had 3-inch reach advantage.

Usman was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 11 more fights, and made his debut in 2012, 5 years and 5 months earlier than Chimaev, whose first professional fight was in 2018. He had fought 56 more professional rounds, 76 to Chimaev's 20.

Usman vs Chimaev form

Usman had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going to the judges once.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had lost to Leon Edwards at UFC 286 on 18th March 2023 by majority decision in their UFC Welterweight championship fight at o2 Arena, London, United Kingdom.

Previous to that, he had been beaten by Leon Edwards at UFC 278 on 20th August 2022 by knockout in the 5th round in their UFC Welterweight championship fight at Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, United States.

Going into that contest, he had won against Colby Covington at UFC 268 on 6th November 2021 by unanimous decision in their UFC Welterweight championship fight at Madison Square Garden, New York City.

Before that, he had beaten Jorge Masvidal at UFC 261 on 24th April 2021 by knockout in the 2nd round in their UFC Welterweight championship fight at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville.

He had defeated Gilbert Burns at UFC 258 on 13th February 2021 by knockout in the 3rd round in their UFC Welterweight championship fight at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Chimaev remained undefeated as a professional, stopping 2 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he was victorious against Kevin Holland at UFC 279 on 10th September 2022 by submission in the 1st round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had won against Gilbert Burns at UFC 273 on 9th April 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Jingliang Li at UFC 267 on 30th October 2021 by submission in the 1st round.

Before that, he had defeated Gerald Meerschaert at UFC Vegas 11 on 19th September 2020 by knockout in the 1st round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas, United States.

He was victorious against Rhys McKee at UFC Fight Island 3 on 25th July 2020 by knockout in the 1st round at UFC Fight Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Kamaru Usman had been fighting more than Khamzat Chimaev.

Going to this contest, Kamaru Usman had last fought 1 year, 1 month and 7 days ago, while Khamzat Chimaev's last outing had been 1 year, 7 months and 15 days ago.

Usman's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 2 months and 12 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 7 months and 21 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 20 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 4 rounds on average.

Chimaev's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years and 9 months, meaning he had been fighting on average every 9 months and 1 day. In those fights, he fought a total of 7 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 1.4 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Usman vs Chimaev?

Kamaru Usman was a 11/4 (+280) underdog going into the contest, while Khamzat Chimaev made his way into the ring at 7/25 (-360) with oddsmakers.