Former UFC welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman, has given an update on what could come next for him as he ‘plots’ his next move.
‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ last fought in October last year, when he stepped in late notice to fight the avoided, Khamzat Chimaev. Despite losing the fight on the decision, Usman showed that he is still a top contender, and began turning the tide of the fight in rounds two and three.
Not only was the fight late notice, but it was also Usman’s first at middleweight, and it is unclear whether he will stick to middleweight moving forward, or if he will return to welterweight.
Since his fight against Chimaev, the 36-year-old has been rumored with several middleweights including Paulo Costa, but nothing has come to fruition just yet.
Kamaru Usman is currently on a three-fight losing streak, two of which came against Leon ‘Rocky’ Edwards.
Usman admits Belal Muhammad should be next for Leon Edwards and explains his situation
Current welterweight champion, Edwards, was rumored to be fighting at UFC 300 and was reportedly offered three separate opponents, none of which were Belal Muhammad.
Kamaru Usman told ESPN MMA that Muhammad should be next because ‘it’s the only thing that makes sense’.
“The only thing that makes sense right now is Belal Muhammad because Belal has been there for a while and has been in that top 10 then the top five and who else makes sense because I think it’s going to take time to be able to build someone to challenge the champion (Edwards).” Usman explained.
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With it unclear whether Usman will fight at welterweight again or not, he admitted that the situation he is in is unusual and that he is letting ‘some things heal’ before he returns to action.
As well as that, Usman hinted that he will only be taking fights that make sense for him and interest him, moving forward with his career.
“I never thought I’d be in this position. I never thought I’d just have a body of work to the point where I could sit back and let a few things unfold. For a long time, I was like I need to get there and be that guy, I need to be champion and now I’m in a position where I don’t have to.
“I definitely want to but I’m taking time to just kind of see how things unfold because right now the welterweight division is kind of clouded and the middleweight division as well. I’m just taking some time, letting some things heal, and plotting my next move.”
Despite Usman likely being at the tail-end of his career and suffering more frequent injuries, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ is still ranked number one in the 170lb rankings, and after such a positive 185lb debut, he will slot straight into title contention.