Kamaru Usman Claims He’d Never Fight Khabib Or Israel Adesanya
Superfights seem to be the desire of all champions in the UFC today. However, don’t expect to see UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman challenging for a second title anytime soon.
Usman was recently a guest on Joe Rogan‘s podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” to talk about several topics. During the show, Usman discussed whether or not he’d fight lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov or middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. Usman and Nurmagomedov are both friends and are represented by Ali Abdelaziz.
Also, Usman and Adesanya are close as they are both fellow countrymen from Nigeria, and are the first African UFC champions of all time. Usman said he’d never fight Nurmagomedov, who he considers to be a brother, and doesn’t see himself fighting Adesanya either. (H/T MMA Junkie)
“I would never fight Khabib – that’s my brother,” Usman said. “It’s just a mutual respect. I don’t see myself ever fighting Khabib. I don’t see myself ever fighting Israel, even though a lot of people have hinted toward it. I don’t see myself fighting him. Having two belts in Nigeria is better than just having one guy hold two belts. There’s no desire there. That’s my guy. He’s special.”
Usman comes off the first title defense of his career this past December. He and Colby Covington put on a tremendous back-and-forth contest in the UFC 245 main event. However, midway through the fight, Usman broke Covington’s jaw. The pain became too much for Covington to deal with late in the final round, as Usman finished “Chaos” with a barrage of shots.
Now, Usman is nursing a hand injury before getting back into the Octagon. He could possibly fight 2019 Fighter Of The Year Jorge Masvidal next, a fight that seems to have some personal beef mixed into it. Should Masvidal instead opt to fight Conor McGregor next, Usman could be looking at taking on the winner of Tyron Woodley and Leon Edwards at UFC London this March.
Usman actually took the title from Woodley back in March with a dominant performance over five rounds. He took home the strap with a lopsided unanimous decision victory. Woodley insists he had a lot going on during that time, and is desperate for a rematch. He could very well get it if he can get past Edwards in enemy territory.
Would you like to see Usman fight Nurmagomedov or Adesanya?
