Kamaru Usman reveals champ-champ aspirations ahead of middleweight debut: “I want both”

By Josh Evanoff - October 16, 2023

Former UFC champion Kamaru Usman might be moving up to middleweight, but his time at welterweight isn’t done.

Kamaru Usman

‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ has been out of action since a rematch with Leon Edwards in March. At UFC 286, Kamaru Usman suffered his second-straight loss to ‘Rocky’, this time by unanimous decision. Following the defeat, the former champion was linked to a matchup with Stephen Thompson.

However, he will instead move to middleweight this Saturday night to face Khamazat Chimaev. ‘Borz’ was originally slated to face Paulo Costa, but the Brazilian was pulled due to an elbow injury. As a result, Kamaru Usman will step up on less than two weeks’ notice to fight at UFC 294.

However, despite his upcoming debut at 185 pounds, Kamaru Usman isn’t done at welterweight. The former champion revealed the news in a recent interview with TMZ Sports. Along with that, the Nigerian fighter stated that he planned to win gold at both weight classes, and then potentially ride off into the sunset.

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Kamaru Usman

“Sean Strickland is a champion, I’ve already taken care of him,” Kamaru Usman stated in the interview discussing his champ-champ aspirations. “Not to say he’s not better, he is. But I’ve got a mountain in front of me that I need to climb and scale so we’ll get through that first. Then we’ll worry about what’s next, but it’s a no-brainer. No [I’m not done at welterweight], absolutely not.”

He continued, “What a way to go out! I might mic drop. Grab the middleweight belt, go down, grab the welterweight. What a way to go out though. I want both! I’ve wanted champ-champ, but what a way. To go get the top one, then come back down and get it. Nobody has ever done that, it would be crazy.

What do you make of these comments from Kamaru Usman? Do you believe he’ll defeat Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294?


Topics:

Kamaru Usman Khamzat Chimaev UFC