Kamaru Usman will make his middleweight debut at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi after the former welterweight champion stepped in last minute to face unbeaten Khamzat Chimaev, UFC president Dana White announced on Wednesday evening.
Usman (20-3) was one of the most dominant welterweight champions in UFC history, successfully defending the title five times after claiming the belt against Tyron Woodley at UFC 235 in March 2019.
However, the 'Nigerian Nightmare' is coming off successive losses to current champion Leon Edwards, the most recent in March, and will make the step up to the heavier division for the first time.
Usman's opportunity came after Chimaev's original opponent, Paulo Costa, withdrew due to injury. Chimaev, unbeaten after 12 professional fights, is the UFC's No 4-ranked welterweight but has previously fought at middleweight. UFC 294 will mark his return to the octagon since last fighting in September last year.
It is the second time in as many days the UFC have had to draft in new opponents for the fight night in Abu Dhabi. Former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira withdrew from his rematch bout with title holder Islam Makhachev on Monday after sustaining an injury in sparring and has been replaced by featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski.
“You know what we’ve been dealing with this week. We just got the big fight done yesterday, the highly anticipated rematch in Abu Dhabi: Makhachev vs Volkanovski,” White said.
“Now you’ve been waiting for the co-main event. Costa’s hurt … we got it done. The No 4 welterweight in the world, Khamzat Chimaev, is moving up to middleweight and he will face the No 1 welterweight in the world: Kamaru Usman.
“No 1 vs No 4 at middleweight, Usman vs Chimaev,” White added. “I will see you in Abu Dhabi!”
Both fighters have experience fighting in Abu Dhabi, Usman making the second defence of his welterweight title with a unanimous points win over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 251 in July 2020.
Chimaev, meanwhile, has competed in the capital on three previous occasions with the UFC, his first two appearances setting a new UFC record for the quickest turnaround between fights. After marking his UFC debut with a second-round submission of John Phillips on July 16, 2020, Chimaev returned to the octagon 10 days later to defeat Rhys McKee with a first-round stoppage at welterweight.
The co-main event is part of an exciting card at Abu Dhabi's Etihad Arena, which will also see history being made as Mohammed Yahya becomes the first Emirati to fight in the UFC when he enters the octagon against American Trevor Peek at lightweight.
Other notable bouts include a clash of middleweight contenders in Nassourdine Imavov and Ikram Aliskerov, while former light-heavyweight title challenger Magomed Ankalaev takes on Johnny Walker, and top prospect Muhammad Mokaev meets Tim Elliott at flyweight.
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: Aston Martin DB11 V8 vs Ferrari GTC4Lusso T
Price, base: Dh840,000; Dh120,000
Engine: 4.0L V8 twin-turbo; 3.9L V8 turbo
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic; seven-speed automatic
Power: 509hp @ 6,000rpm; 601hp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 695Nm @ 2,000rpm; 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.9L / 100km; 11.6L / 100km
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ACC%20T20%20Women%E2%80%99s%20Championship
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ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
MATCH INFO
Newcastle 2-2 Manchester City
Burnley 0-2 Crystal Palace
Chelsea 0-1 West Ham
Liverpool 2-1 Brighton
Tottenham 3-2 Bournemouth
Southampton v Watford (late)
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
PROFILE OF STARZPLAY
Date started: 2014
Founders: Maaz Sheikh, Danny Bates
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment/Streaming Video On Demand
Number of employees: 125
Investors/Investment amount: $125 million. Major investors include Starz/Lionsgate, State Street, SEQ and Delta Partners
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The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
Company%C2%A0profile
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Company%20profile
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Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
WHAT%20START-UPS%20IS%20VISA%20SEEKING%3F
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
