Kamaru Usman, UFC 268

Kamaru Usman reveals he almost fought Jan Blachowicz for light heavyweight title

Kamaru Usman is the UFC welterweight champion and depending on who you talk to, he’s the current pound-for-pound best fighter in the promotion, and possibly the entire sport of mixed martial arts. It’s not just not the fans and media who feel Usman holds this top place, it’s the champion himself, and with this feeling, he recently revealed he wanted to challenge himself by moving up two weight classes.

In his feature on GQ Magazine Kamaru Usman revealed that he was considering moving up from the 170-pound welterweight division to the 205-pound light heavyweight division to challenge former champion Jan Blachowicz. While it is not unheard of for reigning champions to move up or down one weight class, Usman said he would not entertain the idea of challenging for the middleweight title because of his Nigerian brother and champion, Israel Adesanya.

It was Adesanya, not Usman, who challenged Blachowicz for the UFC’s light heavyweight title, and although the middleweight champion came up short in his own respective bid, the welterweight champion wants his own opportunity to compete for the title as well. Talking to GQ Magazine, Kamaru Usman said that if he believes he’s the pound-for-pound best, moving up two weight classes and challenging Jan Blachowicz should be no issue.

“I was going to skip Israel and go fight Jan [Blachowicz] at 205. Because I’m pound-for-pound, I want to prove it. No matter what weight it is, I thought he was a really good matchup for me. I think I would beat him.”

Although Blachowicz lost his light heavyweight title to Glover Teixeira, it is an interesting proposition for Usman angling for a chance to compete at 205 pounds. With several title defenses to his credit as the welterweight champion, an understanding that he will not fight his good friend Adesanya, and very few new challengers left in his own division, Kamaru Usman could be putting a plan in place to one day compete at the UFC’s light heavyweight division.

Most recently, UFC President Dana White said that top-contender Leon Edwards will be next in line to challenge Usman for the welterweight title, although there was no timetable given for that future matchup.

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Mike Pendleton
Mike Pendleton is a current contributor to MyMMANews while also hosting his "On The Mic" podcast and is a former Associate Producer at Sirius XM's Fight Nation. With a special passion for interviewing and talking to the very best around the fight game, you can read or listen to Mike's work across his multiple outlets. Follow me on Twitter: @MP2310