Sean Strickland's lack in facing 'hardcore' wrestlers like Kamaru Usman and Khamzat Chimaev the reason for UFC 294 booking, says Michael Bisping

The news that Khamzat Chimaev's previous opponent, Paulo Costa, has been replaced by former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, recently set the internet on fire.

Usman will be moving up to 185 lbs for the first time in his UFC career to face the surging Chimaev. This came on the heels of Costa withdrawing from the bout as he recently underwent elbow surgery and contracted a staph infection.

Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping took note of the news, and put it into context for fans on his official YouTube channel. Bisping noted the lack of wrestlers in the middleweight division and said:

"If we look at what the history books have shown us so far, and we look at the opponents, Israel Adesanya, kickboxer, Abus Magomedov, he can wrestle a bit, Nassourdine Imavov, again, good fighters, good grapplers but not like hardcore Usman, Chimaev style wrestlers."

Check out the clip here (6:10 for Bisping's comments):

Bisping believes that Kamaru Usman or Khamzat Chimaev could present a tough stylistic matchup for Sean Strickland.

According to Bisping, that idea played a major role in both Usman and Chimaev accepting this fight on short notice. 'Borz' has gone from strength-to-strength since entering the UFC, and is well on his way to the top.

Usman, on the other hand, will be looking for a new lease of life after coming up to the middleweight division. It appears as if his previous 170 lbs strap will be occupied by Leon Edwards at least for the foreseeable future.

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Khamzat Chimaev brands Paulo Costa a 'chicken'

After Paulo Costa pulled out of his UFC 294 co-main event against Khamzat Chimaev, the Chechen-born Chimaev didn't hold back. In a series of tweets, he attacked the Brazilian Costa for talking so much trash in the buildup, but failing to show up for the fight.

Chimaev tweeted:

"This g*y talk so much shit one year now pull out like a chicken."

He also shared a hilarious and obviously doctored picture of Costa sporting long, blonde hair, alongside the caption:

"One more surgery"

Finally, Chimaev rounded things off with a picture of Costa holding 'coward juice,' a play on the 'secret juice' meme made popular by Costa: