UFC 294: Kamaru Usman falls to Chimaev by majority decision

Kamaru Usman lost to Khamzat Chimaev in the Welterweight title fight at UFC 294, with the champion retaining his title via unanimous decision in Abu Dhabi.

The Nigerian nightmare, who took the fight on short notice, came into the fight on the back of successive defeats to Leon Edwards in the past year. He was keen to defeat Chimaev and become a double champion in the UFC.

Chimaev showed his strength and resilience in the first round, dominating Usman with his superior grappling and striking, and the Nigerian took quite a beating in the round but survived.

The second and third rounds were much more even, as Usman took the fight to Chimaev, who revealed after the fight that he had broken his hand in the first round.

With neither fighter securing a knockout, the decision went to the judges, who ruled in favour of Chimaev. Two of the judges ruled the fight to have been won 29-27 on points by Chimaev, while the third one ruled that it ended 28-28. Chimaev claimed the win by majority decision.

In the main event at UFC 294, Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev proved that his previous win over Alexander Volkanovski was no fluke as he stopped the Australian in the first round of their rematch.

Makhachev saw a deadly left kick connect with the head of Volkanovski, sending the dazed man reeling as he went down. The champion followed with some brutal punches and the referee stopped the fight, with Makhachev winning via knockout.