Kamaru Usman reveals offer to face ex-UFC champion in new division as Islam Makhachev fight fades
Kamaru Usman has revealed the UFC offered him Dricus du Plessis after ‘tumultuous’ conversations over fighting Islam Makhachev.
‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ doesn’t understand why his bosses won’t book him against current UFC welterweight king Makhachev, the promotion’s No. 1 pound-for-pound (P4P) star.
Usman, a former champion at 170lbs and No. 1 P4P fighter himself, believes the bout makes perfect sense, not only for both combatants, but for the company, too.
The 38-year-old ended a three-fight losing skid in June by defying the odds to dominate top-ranked welterweight Joaquin Buckley over five rounds.
He dropped the welterweight title to Leon Edwards in August 2022, failing to reclaim it in a rematch seven months later, before suffering his third loss in a row to current middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev.
Usman now firmly believes that his next fight should be for a title, having last year revealed an ambitious two-fight retirement plan to become a two-division champion.
However, based on conversations with the UFC, Usman isn’t sure if things will go as planned.
Negotiation confusion
“The Islam fight was obviously what I wanted,” Usman said on his Pound 4 Pound podcast with fellow ex-UFC champion Henry Cejudo.
“It would’ve been great not just for me, not just for Islam.
“But it would’ve been great for the company and would’ve been great for the world to see that.
“But for some reason – we’ve had conversations – Hunter Campbell (UFC CBO) feels differently and he wants to go a different way we don’t know yet.
“They haven’t come out and said Islam’s going to get this guy or Islam’s going with me.
“But it’s been a tumultuous back and forth with getting that done.”
Usman then shared his thoughts on moving up to the middleweight division after being offered du Plessis.
“Other things were presented to me, like potentially a du Plessis, or other guys,” he added.
“Listen, there’s one thing about me, when they call and say this guy or that guy, I don’t go, ‘Aw, maybe no,’ I say yes.
“For sure [I’d move up to middleweight], potentially, but the thing for me is it has to be meaningful.
“At this point, it has to be meaningful. I’m not just here to fight the fight; it has to be meaningful.
“If it gets me to the title that I want that’s what I want.”
Could Usman fight du Plessis?
Usman vs du Plessis is not a disastrous route if it remains the former’s only option.
Du Plessis went undefeated in his first nine UFC fights, winning the 185lb title against Sean Strickland in 2024 and defending it twice.
The South African’s only defeat in Dana White‘s promotion came in his last outing against Chimaev, who hasn’t fought since.
A win over du Plessis would no doubt put Usman in good stead for a title shot at middleweight, if he drops the idea of attempting to become a champion at 170lbs again.
He is also considered a naturally big welterweight, typically walking around at anywhere between 190-200lbs.
Should he be booked against du Plessis at 185lbs and win, Usman would then potentially be in a position to face Chimaev in a rematch.
The pair fought to a split decision at UFC 294 in October 2023, with one judge scoring the fight a draw while the other two awarded ‘Borz’ the deciding rounds.
For all the upcoming fights and results this year, check out talkSPORT.com’s UFC schedule.
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