Former welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman, has been confirmed to fight Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 after Paulo Costa was forced out of the clash due to an injury and Dana White confirmed the Nigerian as his replacement.
The bout had been thrown into doubt when Costa was forced to undergo elbow surgery. Usman will now move up to middleweight, from welterweight, to face Chimaev in a blockbuster UFC clash.
“You know what we’ve been dealing with this week. We just got the big fight done yesterday, the highly anticipated rematch in Abu Dhabi, Makhachev vs Volkanovski,” White said on social media.
“Now you’ve been waiting for the co-main event. Costa’s hurt, we got it done. The No. 4 welterweight in the world, Khamzat Chimaev, is moving up to middleweight and he will face the No.1 welterweight in the world, Kamaru Usman.”
