UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman was working the desk last night at UFC Vegas 49. There he watched Islam Makhachev defeat Bobby Green to put himself into pole position for a lightweight title shot.
Two fighters vying for a shot at Usman’s title will be doing battle on March 5, in the main event of UFC 272. Colby Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal might provide the winner a chance to test the adage of ‘three time’s a charm’ versus ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’.
Four of Usman’s last five fights have been against either Covington or Masvidal. He’s won all of them, by the way. So who better to offer analysis on a fight between ‘Chaos’ and ‘Gamebred’. On ESPN he gave his take and said who he thought would walk away with their hand raised.
“I think [Masvidal] could potentially win the fight because one thing about Masvidal is he is one of the only guys who in his stance is so tall in his stance but he is able to defend takedowns from some of the best wrestlers,” said Usman (ht sportskeeda). “He’s very very good at striking, so relaxed and so fast and he’s able to touch you. He might not feel as hard but he can touch that button to be able to shut the lights off and I mean, being able to run across the Octagon in five seconds, landing knee like that just shows a different level of athleticism.”
“He’s an athlete,” Usman added. “He’s a skilled striker, he’s a skilled fighter, and he definitely has the tools to be able to land that shot to steal this fight away from Covington. So, I’m excited, I can’t wait, I will be there. I haven’t been to a fight in a long time.”
Usman hasn’t lost since his second pro fight back in 2013. Over the past few years he has looked unstoppable and earned his spot as the top ranked men’s pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC.
His last title defence, at November’s UFC 268, was a unanimous decision win over Covington. That followed a thunderous KO win over Masvidal. Usman has also defended his title against teammate Gilbert Burns, who he beat by TKO last February.
UFC 272 is scheduled to take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. The co-main event is slated to feature Rafael dos Anjos vs. Rafael Fiziev. The card also includes Edson Barboza vs. Bryce Mitchell and Kevin Holland vs. Alex Oliveira.
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