Kamaru Usman on Performance Against Khamzat Chimaev: ‘I Need to Trust Myself More’

Kamaru Usman believes he could have done more in his short-notice middleweight fight against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294.

Usman put on a gritty performance against Chimaev in the three-round co-main event headlined by a championship rematch between Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski. However, Chimaev's dominant wrestling and control in Round 1 seemed to have set Usman back on the scorecards from the very start.

The remaining rounds were extremely close. While Usman seemed to have the striking advantage, Chimaev managed to display his effective grappling skills throughout the bout. In the end, "Borz" improved his impressive mixed martial arts record to 13-0 with a majority decision victory against the former welterweight champion.

Reflecting on his performance during the post-fight interview with Megan Olivi, Usman was quick to criticize his inability to start the fight strong.

“If anything that I can say I take away from tonight it's that I need to trust myself more, trust my coaches,” he said. “We'll be back. You know, coming off the couch in 10 days and fighting a young hungry bull like that who's big and strong and has had a year and a half to really grow into this weight class and I didn't and I think I didn't trust my shape. I'm a championship fighter, and you can't start slow like that. I say give me a couple of extra rounds, I think the world knows what that result might be.”

Usman certainly didn't have adequate time to prepare for a specialist like Chimaev. However, the same could be said for “Borz,” who was initially slated to face Paulo Costa in Abu Dhabi.

Usman is now on a three-fight losing skid, with two of those losses coming in the form of majority decisions. Nevertheless, “The Nigerian Nightmare” is far from done and will be looking to step inside the Octagon sooner than later seemingly at middleweight once again.

“It's a tough one,” he said. “You know I'll take a little bit of time, just a little bit and I'm back in the gym. I don't mind it. I think he’s (Chimaev) going to fight for the title. I'll take du Plessis, co-main, UFC 300. Why not?”