WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. – UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman Haven’t fought in almost 10 months. Normally, those who follow the sport consider the interval between matches to be a “respite” – but nothing about how Usman chose to spend those 10 months sounds like a stretch of time. rested.
“Everybody said, ‘You’ve had a long time being fired,’ because it’s just been a while since they saw me inside the Octagon,” Usman told ESPN. “It doesn’t mean I don’t do anything. Even if I have only one hand and the other hand is in a cast [after breaking his right hand in a November win over Colby Covington]I’m still using my left hand and going to the gym.
“In the position I’m in, it never stops. You don’t really have time to rest. I don’t stop thinking about the sport. It’s mental pressure. I’ve said this before. Here: My job is to prepare for the rest of the world, while the rest of the world only needs to prepare one guy.”
Usman (20-1) will seek his sixth 170-pound championship at UFC 278 on Saturday (10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ pay-per-view), when he met Leon Edwards (March 19) inside the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City. Going forward, 35-year-old Usman is achieving many records, including the most consecutive wins to start his UFC career. Usman is 15-0 in the Octagon, just one win against the former middleweight king Anderson Silva16-0 difference before losing.
Usman’s level of perfection led some, including UFC president Dana White, to begin to harbor the idea that he would become the greatest boxer of all time.
“I’m still considering Jon Jones [the greatest], but it’s time to start talking about Kamaru Usman,” White said. He’s got a fight to get out of tying up Anderson Silva. He beat Jon Jones and [Georges St-Pierre, in longest win streaks to start a UFC career]. If he beats Leon Edwards, then he’s bound to Anderson Silva and he’s in that discussion. “
For what it’s worth, Usman says he’s not interested in the specific nomenclature of “greatest of all time”. He simply wanted to earn the respect of the entire sport by the time he hung up his gloves.
“When I prepared and finished, they would say, ‘That guy is special,'” Usman said.
But for the sake of conversation…what maybe Usman doing that wouldn’t it be difficult to call anyone other than himself a EASTER? His excellence has reached a level that can truly be mapped. Here’s how he can get there:
Buy UFC 278 on ESPN+ pay-per-view.
1. Close chapter Leon Edwards
Saturday’s bout was a rematch of a bout that took place in 2015. Usman defeated Edwards in his second UFC appearance (and Edwards’ fourth). The matchup wasn’t particularly engaging or memorable, as Usman knocked Edwards down with a total of 126 to 36 hits and knocked him out six times. But everything that has happened since that game legitimizes Edwards as a serious threat.
Edwards is unbeaten in 10 consecutive games. And although the Englishman will be an underdog on Saturday, there is certainly a path to victory for him. Since losing to Usman in 2015, Edwards has focused heavily on his wrestling and has improved his knockdown defense in the UFC by 70%. He’s also a five-round veteran, having crossed that gap three times in his last five competitions.
“Leon is dangerous,” Usman said. “He’s very dangerous. He may not have had those standout moments, but he’s very, very dangerous. Even myself, I’ve had some standout moments, but mostly in that number comes after the championship. So I don’t discredit him. I have complete respect for him.”
If Usman gets past Edwards, three of his six title defenses will be in rematches – which means, he’s basically leading the league. To be the greatest of all time, that’s one of the requirements: Clean up a department, in a way that leaves no doubt your superiors. After Edwards is gone, the division will be virtually wiped out – only one name remains.
2. Khamzat Chimaev
Chimaev is the only name left in the top 4 of the UFC rankings that Usman has yet to beat. And if all goes well, this will be the biggest title defense of Usman’s career.
Chimaev will be the fastest title challenger in UFC history. Yes, there have been others who have fought for the title before in their UFC fights, but those are exceptional cases. For example, Brock Lesnar fought for the title in just his third UFC appearance (and fourth MMA fight overall), but he’s clearly been a superstar at the time since his WWE days.
The Wolf was essentially unknown when he made his UFC debut in 2020. Chimaev (11-0) is currently 5-0 in the UFC with four finishes. He has to face Nate Diaz in the main event of UFC 279 next month, and if Chimaev wins, it sets up a potential big fight: Usman, #1 in ESPN’s pound-for-pound rankings, usurps the UFC’s newest star .
“Now there’s another guy that everyone is so excited about,” Usman said. “People are like, ‘That’s the guy, that’s the guy that’s going to get you.’ It was another moment that I must be able to grace and cherish, knowing that I would be in a chaotic situation again. … I would be lying if I said I wouldn’t wake up more because that, because everywhere you go, people will talk about it.”
3. Light and heavy
Over the last year, Usman has nurtured the idea of pursuing a second UFC title up two weight classes. Of course, the sport has seen multi-division champions before, but never has one skipped an entire weight class on the way up. Usman is ready to go straight to light heavyweight because in middleweight, his good friend and fellow Nigerian Israel Adesanya is the current belt holder.
This isn’t the first time Usman has suggested something that could be seen as absurd. Last year, he campaigned for a boxing match against Canelo Alvarez. Pound-for-pound Boxing King vs. MMA King. Honestly, this idea doesn’t really catch on, but this idea may be different. If Usman is really serious about moving to 205 pounds, there’s a world going. And he said he was very serious about it.
“I want [my fighters’] Trevor Wittman, Usman head coach says goals become the biggest goals you can set. history. … If he says, “Hey, I’m thinking about this,” I say, “Go, let’s do it.”
Usman has said he won’t be focusing on a light heavyweight fight, even though the weight class is 35 pounds higher than the one he’s in. Jan Blachowicz backstage at a UFC event in Las Vegas.
That seems mostly just a photographic work to pique people’s curiosity. However, if Usman defends his title against Edwards and then Chimaev in a potential blockbuster main event, any of his requests to move up two weight classes would do something no one has yet to do. ever do will probably receive an honest review from the UFC.
Maybe that’s why Usman doesn’t talk so much about being a GOAT. If he hits a big goal like winning the light heavyweight title, he won’t need to talk about being GOAT. We will talk about it for him.
“I mean, I’ll let it go [middleweight]”Usman said.” I’ll go up to 205 [pounds] and I’ll take that belt. … I want to ask you a question: I skipped 185, got 205 and I grabbed that belt, what do you say about my career? “
