“Why you lost last two fights?” Khamzat Chimaev and Kamaru Usman get heated at press conference after Chechen fighter questions rival’s ‘the best’ claims

Khamzat Chimaev and Kamaru Usman’s intense staredown is preceded by Usman taking heat on the banter, at the press conference.

“Why you lost last two fights?” Khamzat Chimaev and Kamaru Usman get heated at press conference after Chechen fighter questions rival’s ‘the best’ claims

Kamaru Usman vs. Khamzat Chimaev (Source: IMAGO)

The UFC 294 pre-fight press conference drew the UFC security’s attention with an intense staredown. Challenging fighters in the bout, Khamzat Chimaev and Kamaru Usman got into a fiery non-verbal gaze. So much so that CEO Dana White unnaturally intervened and lent a hand in the middle just to avoid chaos. Even before that, the two got into a heated banter, and Chimaev took the fight to Usman.

“If you are the best, why you lost two fights?” asked Chimaev mockingly to his opponent. “Hey, sh*t happens; this is life. But I guess that is a lesson you don’t know…” retorted Usman before being cut off. “I mean if you are the best in the world, you cannot lose a fight.”

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White had previously informed that the bout would be a title eliminator. At 20-3 MMA, 15-2 UFC, Usman moves up to middleweight for this short-notice bout. Before that, he had incurred two big skids to champion Leon Edwards at 170 lbs. Chimaev returns to the octagon after a long while. In his last bout, he submitted Kevin Holland at UFC 279.

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With the reputation of being intense individuals, the two surely kept up with the sentiment. Additionally, speaking at the conference, Usman had also later shut down any rumors of a possible knee injury prior to this matchup,

Related: Who has taken down Kamaru Usman in his career? Everything about 97% takedown defense of Nigerian Nightmare

Kamaru Usman shuts down rumors of knee injury before UFC 294 middleweight bout

Kamaru Usman said the rumors surrounding his knee injury were false. Ahead of his bout with Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294, Usman’s open workout training session with Justin Gaethje had incited much controversy. Training partner Gaethje later clarified the situation, but in vain. Usman had sternly shut down the feasibility of the rumor.

Khamzat Chimaev vs. Kamaru Usman
Khamzat Chimaev vs. Kamaru Usman (Source: IMAGO)

Speaking on an all-new edition of Heck of a Morning, Usman conversed with MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck. Usman and Gaethje have vehemently stuck on the fact that he never uttered a word about a knee injury during the workout. He stressed upon this even more, along with other topics like the UFC press conference. He also weighed in on Islam Makhachev‘s stance that Alexander Volkanovski only took the champion vs. champion bout on short notice for the payday.

Fans are torn on whether or not there is any truth to the knee injury, even with Usman blatantly denting the same. The only thing to do is wait and see as the former welterweight champion faces his opponent in the revamped fight card of the UFC 294 pay-per-view event.

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