Kamaru Usman är inte exalterad över att Khamzat Chimaev ställer krav.
Kamaru Usman sågar Khamzat Chimaev
Den tidigare UFC-mästaren Kamaru Usman såg charmen i att möta den obesegrade svensken Khamzat Chimaev men chansen att matchen äger rum snart är avlägsen med tanke på att Chimaevs nästa fight kommer att ske i mellanvikt mot Paulo Costa vid UFC 294 i oktober. Usman och Chimaev valde nyligen att bråka om varför deras match inte har bokats ännu där svensk-tjetjenen ifrågasatte varför Usman inte vill flytta upp till mellanvikt för att möta honom.
I sin enda match detta år misslyckades Usman att återerövra welterviktstiteln från Edwards och han hoppas nu studsa tillbaka detta år. Han har dock redan lagt Chimaev bakom sig.
Usman sade följande till TMZ:
I’m shooting for this year, fall. We’ll see. I’ve already said, ‘Hey, I’m ready to fight,’ but the thing too is it has to make sense. Who on the planet didn’t agree that that Khamzat fight made sense? But your guy who has been in the UFC, what, two years now, and he fought literally five guys, five fights, they have you ranked at No. 3. You fought one ranked guy. They have you ranked at No. 3 in my division. I’m No. 1 and I say OK let’s fight. I’ll go down and fight you. It didn’t matter where, but then you say, ‘No, I don’t want to make that weight. Come up to middleweight to fight me.
Wait, so you want to tell me, the former champion, at this weight, that’s No. 1 ranked in the world at that weight, that I need to move up to middleweight to fight. Who are you? Who are you? That’s what I’m saying. It’s the disrespect of the sport. I even wanted to make it sweet and I said, ‘UFC, you know what? I’ll give you that catchweight. I’ll give you a catchweight. You name the catchweight and I’ll give it to you.’ And [Chimaev says,] ‘Oh no, I can’t make that. Come up to middleweight.
So you want me, who’s put the time in and done everything in this sport, to come up to middleweight to fight you, who’s done nothing in this sport, because you’re hype? Come on, man, that made no sense. And it didn’t make sense for the UFC as well, so the UFC said [to Chimaev], ‘You know what? We’ll find you someone.’ I think he’s got his hands full. If the right Paulo Costa shows up in a fight, he’s got his hands full.
Öppen för att möta Stephen Thompson
I nuläget är toppskiktet i mellanvikt fylld med erfarna namn och på uppåtgående potentiella utmanare så Usman vet att hans nästa match är mot någon lägre i rankingen. Han tillfrågades om han skulle vilja möta Shavkat Rahkmonov då den obesegrade fightern förlorat sin motståndare Kelvin Gastelum som skadat sig. Usman skulle dock inte vilja möta kazakstaniern då han tränat med denne på Kill Cliff FC i Florida.
Han är mer intresserad av att möta den tvåfaldige tidigare titelutmanaren Stephen Thompson. Denne var tänkt att möta Michel Pereira vid UFC 291 förra helgen men valde att tacka nej då denne missat vikten med hela 3 lbs.
The only guys that would even make sense right now, Wonderboy, because he’s an opponent, he’s been around so long and he’s just that name to where it’s always a great fight. … His style is very, very difficult to fight,” Usman said. “He’s just one of those names in my era that I never really got to fight. So I think Wonderboy I would definitely consider that.
I know everyone’s crucifying him for not taking that fight, but why? I don’t understand that. Why? I see people like, ‘He’s a b****,’ ‘He’s scared, he didn’t want to take the fight.’ Why? We signed on the contract and [Pereira] said that he was going to make this weight. He decided not to make that weight and [Thompson] told him, ‘OK, I need you to go back and I need you to make the weight.’ And if he’s not going to try, why is that my fault? No, absolutely not my fault. So people need to stop that. Wonderboy did his job. He came in there, he made weight, he trained for the fight, and what else more can you ask from him?
Även intresserad av Belal Muhammad
Det andra namnet som Usman är intresserad av är den topprankade fightern Belal Muhammad. Denne har just nu en 10 matchers segersvit och kommer senast från en imponerande domslutsseger i en femronade mot Gilbert Burns vid UFC 288.
Usman vet dock att matchen endast kommer hända om båda fighters är villiga att riskera sina starka positioner i viktklassen där i synnerhet Muhammad sitter i en bra sits att få gå sin första titelmatch:
Belal Muhammad, he’s kind of sitting in that position where he’s like, ‘I don’t want to risk my title hopes. They’ve already told me that I would be next,’ whenever that is, even if it’s a year or whatever,” Usman said. “He doesn’t want to risk that chance for the title, so I think those are the only two guys that really make sense. If you look at the roster, who else? Those are the guys that make sense.
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