Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman said that he is open to whatever opportunities come his way inside the Octagon.
Usman moved up to middleweight to fight Dricus du Plessis in the main event of UFC Oklahoma City this past Saturday. Though he lost the fight by unanimous decision, he won a $100,000 bonus for Fight of the Night as the two veterans went to war for 25 minutes.
For Usman, who spent most of his MMA career at welterweight, he is open to fighting at both 170 lbs and 185 lbs in the future, as long as the opportunity is there.
Kamaru Usman Open to Fighting in Multiple Weight Classes
Speaking to the media following UFC OKC, Usman said he’s willing to fight at whatever weight class gives him the best opportunity to land a big fight.
“We’ll see where there’s next opportunities at. Listen, opportunities always come up, like taking on Khazmat Chimaev on eight, seven days’ notice, whatever that was — opportunity came up. (Jorge) Masvidal on six days’ notice —opportunity came up. And there’s been a couple of little ones that didn’t necessarily materialize that I’ve kind of almost jumped in line for. So, opportunities always come up, and look, Michael Bisping was middleweight champion of the world. Let’s not forget that opportunity came up, he jumped on it, he was a middleweight champion,” Usman said (via MMAFighting.com).
Potential Matchups for Kamaru Usman
Should Usman stay at 185 lbs, then a fight against Jared Cannonier could be interesting, as both men are veterans in the latter stages of their MMA careers who both lost at UFC OKC, as Cannonier dropped a decision to Christian Leroy Duncan in the co-main event.
Should Usman move down to 170 again, then a fight against former UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad makes a lot of sense. These two fighters have been connected to a matchup for years, but until this point, they have not met inside the Octagon. With both men at the crossroads of their respective MMA careers right now, this is absolutely a fight that makes a lot of sense for both in the UFC.
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