UFC news: Chimaev asked to stay away from a bout with Usman prior his win

Chimaev defeated No. 2 rated challenger Burns by decision this weekend, and will now likely fight No. 1 ranked opponent Colby Covington. Chimaev was dropped twice en way to triumph, and he was forced to work hard throughout the match, with Burns landing some devastating strokes.

If Chimaev puts on a similar performance against current 170lb champion Usman, former UFC champion Henry Cejudo feels he will be in “serious danger.” Cejudo said to The Schmo, “That was the right call. 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.”

Chimaev has risen quickly in the welterweight class, winning five of his last six fights in the UFC, including his most recent bout with Burns. After a strong opening round, ‘Borz’ dropped his opponent with a powerful jab to end the bout. In the middle stanza, though, he was taken down twice as the two came to blows in some strong fire exchanges.

READ MORE: UFC 273 results – Chimaev & Burns went on war, Volkanovski retains

Chimaev – “I was too excited to knock him out”

At the UFC 273 post-fight news conference, Chimaev stated, “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.”

Usman is expected to remain sidelined until July as he recovers from hand surgery.