Kamaru Usman loses epic conflict in opposition to Chimaev

Khamzat Chimaev managed to attain a victory in opposition to the previous welterweight champion, Kamaru Usmanat an thrilling co-event in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night

Though Chimaev prevailed in the long term, Usman arguably introduced him along with his hardest problem but.

The story of this epic showdown took a stunning flip when Usman entered the Octagon on quick discover after Chimaev’s authentic opponent, Paulo Costa, was pressured to withdraw as a consequence of an harm to his the shoulder.

Regardless of restricted preparation, Usman confirmed nice dedication and confirmed his warrior spirit in opposition to one of many sport’s elite fighters.

Judges’ scorecards have been the topic of a lot debate.

Two of them, Vito Paolillo and Derek Cleary, noticed the struggle in favor of Chimaev, scoring 29-27.

Then again, David Lethaby noticed this as a carefully fought battle, scoring 28-28.

From the primary spherical, Chimaev established his dominance.

He shortly executed a takedown, took Usman’s again and threatened a rear-naked choke whereas unleashing a barrage of punches to Usman’s face.

The Nigerian Nightmare’s resilience was commendable as he survived the onslaught, even trying a daring maneuver to free himself from Chimaev’s grip, however with out success.

Chimaev’s management was so evident that every one three judges gave him a 10-8 benefit within the first spherical.

The second spherical performed out as a unique narrative for each fighters.

Usman opted to maintain the struggle going, taking a extra measured strategy.

He displayed spectacular hanging expertise, touchdown highly effective strikes on Chimaev at completely different occasions.

Nonetheless, Chimaev bought a late takedown, sufficient for Paolillo to award him the spherical.

The third spherical witnessed a good higher efficiency from Usman, who defended admirably in opposition to Chimaev’s takedowns.

He confirmed resilience and talent, getting again on his ft on a number of events.

The struggle ended with an intense change of highly effective strikes between Usman and Chimaev.

Nevertheless, Chimaev’s late takedown and management persuaded Cleary to award the ultimate spherical to the Swedish-Russian fighter.

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Though Usman misplaced Saturday’s struggle, many had been impressed that he pushed his better-prepared opponent to the tip.

Occasions have not been higher for Nigerian fighters of late, with Israel Adesanya additionally serving up his personal bitter tablet of defeat earlier within the yr.