Oleksandr Usyk will clash with Rico Verhoeven as the former will defend his WBC heavyweight championship on May 23rd, and a Ukrainian UFC combatant who entered the octagon on the heels of becoming TUF champion has emphatically predicted this contest.

The combatant in question here is Daniil Donchenko, who prepares to take on Andreas Gustafsson at UFC Baku on June 27th. When touching on how it’s a big time for Ukrainian combat sports in general, within the specific context of discussing Ukraine’s own Usyk, who is fighting Verhoeven this weekend, Donchenko said [via Bowks Talking Bouts],

“Yeah, but I mean Rico Verhoeven is just one more head for Oleksandr Usyk. He would put his scalp for his collection. I mean Oleksandr, he beat already everyone in boxing. Now it’s something interesting. New name, kickboxing champion. Big, strong, powerful. But come on, it’s not the same speed. Hand speed in kickboxing and boxing is so different.”

“Then you saw the footwork of Oleksandr and he’s much lighter. He’s so light on his feet. So for me, it’s like really obvious who will win. I just want to watch this fight because I want to watch how Oleksandr will perform. It’s like big moment for all Ukrainian fans like martial arts fans, boxing, Yaroslav [Amosov] win [at UFC 328], I will fight, Usyk will fight… So now it looks like it’s a big time for Ukrainian MMA, boxing, and all in general. I’m happy to be part of this.”

Oleksandr Usyk hits his highest career weight ahead of heavyweight title defense vs. Rico Verhoeven

Oleksandr Usyk versus Rico Verhoeven takes place in front of the pyramids of Giza on Saturday. The Egypt-based event will see the Usyk vacate his WBA and IBF belts if he loses. This is because those sanctioning bodies are not recognizing this as a title clash due to the localized experience disparity between the boxing records that each fighter has.

While the man who has achieved undisputed champion status across multiple divisions tipped the scales at the highest level he has ever, Usyk was still dwarfed by his title challenger. The champion registered a weight of 233.3 pounds as Oleksandr Usyk now awaits the moment to showcase his skills live on DAZN pay-per-view. Rico Verhoeven weighed in over 25 pounds from where Usyk reached as the generational kickboxing great came in at 258.7 pounds.

The final formality of the pre-event build is now in the rear view, and we are just hours away from Usyk and Verhoeven throwing down for the WBC crown in front of one of the wonders of the world.