Kamaru Usman Explains Why Conor McGregor Should Be Next In Line At 170lbs
Reigning welterweight champion Kamaru Usman has defended his decision to offer former dual weight champion, Conor McGregor, the next shot at his title. Usman was supposed to face number one contender, Jorge Masvidal next but negotiations for that fight appear to have come to a standstill.
Any chance of ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ facing Masvidal seemed to disappear over the weekend as ‘Gambred’ began chasing a lucrative rematch with Nate Diaz. This prompted MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz to reach out to his long-time foe McGregor to offer up a welterweight title shot against his client Usman.
Speaking to ESPN, Usman has defended a potential match-up with the MMA superstar who he says has earned his chance to become a three-weight UFC champion.
“This would be history. A lot of people are trying to s**t on it and saying, oh Conor doesn’t deserve it. Okay, but the next guy that deserves the fight would be Leon Edwards, and he can’t get into the country, so what? If Conor can make this fight happen, why wouldn’t we fight Conor? He just fought at 170 and he looked great,” Usman said. “Cowboy Cerrone beat a lot of guys who are ranked at 170, he did very well at 170. Conor went out there and starched him… Conor went out there and got the job done in less than a minute. So, how can people sit here and say that Conor is not deserving?
Kamaru Usman: Why Has Conor McGregor Gone Quiet?
While he believes McGregor is a worthy opponent, Usman doesn’t believe the fight will actually happen. ‘Notorious’ is yet to respond to the fight offer and the 170lb king thinks that is because the Irishman knows it’s a fight he cannot win.
“We are about making history here. He’s saying he’s the pound-for-pound greatest of all-time across three divisions, this is your chance to prove it, go out there and win a third belt in a third division, so why wouldn’t we make that fight? I’m going to give him the opportunity, if Conor wants it, let’s do it. But, Conor’s quiet now. Why is Conor quiet? Who says no to a title shot? I’ve never seen this in history,” he continued. “Who says no when the champ says come and get your title shot? Unless you know you have no chance in hell of winning, that this might change the landscape of your fighting career ever. That’s the only chance I can see people saying, you know what, I’m going to pass on that title shot right now.” (Transcribed by BJPenn.com)
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