Nigerian mixed martial artist, Kamaru Usman will face Sweden’s Khamzat Chimaev in the co-main event at UFC 294 on Saturday, October 21, 2023.

The action-packed event will take place at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

UFC President Dana White revealed the late substitution via the organisation’s official social media outlets.

Chimaev was supposed to face Brazil’s Paulo Costa in the UFC 294 bout event. However, Costa was ruled out of the match in Abu Dhabi owing to an elbow injury.

Usman, often known as the “Nigerian Nightmare,” was not originally scheduled to compete in UFC 294. But he has entered the octagon as a result of this change of events.

This means that Usman, who competes in the welterweight division, will have to make weight within the next ten days in order to face Chimaev, who competes in the middleweight division.

A native of Edo State, Kamaru, who joined the UFC in 2015, had a 19-match winning streak that resulted in his capturing the welterweight championship.

However, on August 20, 2022, Britain’s Leon Edwards knocked him out with a head kick in the closing minute of the fifth round. His long reign as welterweight champion came to an end in a fight at the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.