"Dared 2 be great & fell short" - Kamaru Usman breaks silence like a champion after UFC 294 loss to Khamzat Chimaev

Kamaru Usman recently broke his silence on his loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294.

'The Nigerian Nightmare' surprised fans with his incredible performance, with many believing that he would've gotten his hand raised had it been a 5-round fight. It was a valiant effort by the former UFC welterweight champion, but he lost a majority decision after the judges scored the bout 28-28, 29-27, and 29-27.

Kamaru Usman accepted the middleweight fight against 'Borz' on short-notice after Paulo Costa was not medically cleared to compete. He took to his X account, where he explained his reasoning and mentioned that he took the risk for his legacy in the sport as there were title implications.

He wrote:

"I dared 2 be great & fell short. Sometimes this is the journey of life. I prey I never complain about the cards I’ve been dealt 4 I have been blessed beyond my wildest dreams Alhamdulilah 4 everything. We go back 2 the drawing board &Insha Allah we’ll be back #UFC294 #GREATFUL"

Tweet regarding UFC 294 loss

The former welterweight champion displayed excellent cardio and resilience despite not having a full training camp. It remains to be seen whether Kamaru Usman will return to welterweight or if he will look to pursue another fight at middleweight.

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Kamaru Usman reflects on takeaways from UFC 294

It was a high risk-high reward situation for Kamaru Usman this past weekend as he fought Khamzat Chimaev on 11-days notice at UFC 294.

Following his majority decision loss, 'The Nigerian Nightmare' spoke to Megan Olivi for ESPN MMA, where he reflected on suffering his third consecutive loss. He mentioned that his biggest takeaway from this losing skid is that he believes he needs to trust his instincts more, saying:

"You go years without losing for a long time by all the hard work. Then, you drop two close ones like that. You start to kind of question things and start to doubt yourself a little bit. You almost forget what it feels like. If anything, I can say I'd take away from tonight, it's that I need to trust myself more."