Getty JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - APRIL 09: Khamzat Chimaev of Russia reacts as he is introduced for his welterweight fight against Gilbert Burns of Brazil during the UFC 273 event at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on April 09, 2022 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
Notable fighter Khamzat Chimaev secured a massive victory on Saturday night, but he’s been warned by Henry Cejudo about a future match-up with UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.
“Borz” battled No. 2 170 pounder Gilbert Burns during the UFC 273 featured bout on April 9 in Jacksonville, Florida. The contest featured non-stop action for three rounds with both men dropping the other inside the Octagon.
Chimaev ultimately won the exhilarating contest via unanimous decision. The UFC awarded the match “Fight of the Night” honors, which comes with an extra $50,000 for both fighters.
When the rankings update later this week, Chimaev, who was at No. 11, will surely break into the top five of the talent-stacked welterweight division. Although No. 1 Colby Covington is who UFC president Dana White is considering for Chimaev’s next opponent, a clash with Usman sooner rather than later is also on the table.
Well, Cejudo doesn’t think the fight will go in Borz’s favor. During a recent episode of Cejudo’s “The Triple C & Schmo Show,” the former two-division UFC champion reacted to the 11-0 professional fighter’s performance and win over Burns. In short, Cejudo believes that if Chimaev uses the throw-caution-to-the-wind approach against “The Nigerian Nightmare” like he did against Burns, he’ll be in “big trouble.”
“That was the right call,” Cejudo said via The Mirror. “But if Chimaev goes out there and fights The Nigerian Nightmare like that, he’s in big trouble man. We just saw him kind of become human here.”
Usman is currently recovering from hand surgery and when he returns, the UFC president has confirmed on multiple occasions that No. 3 Leon Edwards will receive the next crack at him.
Chimaev Said He ‘Was Too Excited’ About Knocking Out Burns, Sacrificed Technique
During the UFC 273 post-fight press conference, Chimaev admitted that he underestimated the durability of “Durinho.” He focused too much on knocking out the former title contender instead of remaining technical.
“I was too excited to knock him out,” Chimaev said via MMA Fighting. “I was saying to everybody all week I was going to knock him out in one round. I tried to knock him out. That was wrong for me, from the beginning.
“The guy was tough, I didn’t accept that. From the first second to the last second, I tried to finish him. Next time, I’m going to work to be a little bit smarter. I’m going to smash somebody.
“It wasn’t something surprising from him, but it was wrong for me. My coach told me all the time, you love to throw down and work more technical. I just want to take his head off. Next time, I’m going to work for that.”
Borz Continued With Thoughts on His Performance
Chimaev said he knows what he did wrong during UFC 273, he was too aggressive about chasing a highlight-reel KO.
“I already know [what I did wrong],” Chimaev said. “From the beginning, I tried to knock him out. My coach said to me start slowly, work with your jab and defend. I just go in and just did some crazy s*** and I dropped him and I got more excited. I tried to finish him. I needed to let him up and knock him out again.
“I’m going to watch my fight [one more time] what’s happening there. I don’t care about this s***. I’ll fight again against somebody else.”