LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Former UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman has been locked in a fight with Khamzat Chimaev for a while now — and a deal is yet to come.
Osman (20-3) has not competed since his second loss to Leon Edwards, who is expected to fight Colby Covington later this year. Appearing backstage at UFC 290 over the weekend, “The Nigerian Nightmare” gave his side of the story when it came to holding off on making the fight.
I went to Dana [White, UFC President]Our office and I said “Hey, well, this is the guy you guys are saying is the next guy in the department? Well, give me that guy. I said that to Dana. At the end of the day, I was and still am the shaded guy in this split. If you want to fight, you want To be a champion, drop the extra pounds and come and fight.”
That seemed to be the sticking point, according to Usman — Chimaev didn’t have the discipline to make 170 pounds anymore.
“I asked for the fight. He says he’s the mystery guy in the squad, and I think he’s a really good fighter. A very good fighter,” Usman admitted. “But hey, you want to fight, drop the weight and let’s fight. Be disciplined. He doesn’t want to do that anymore. He has the money now, he loves life, and he lives the good life. He doesn’t want to lose weight. He wants to eat and wants to pass the goal to him. No, you want to be a champion, that’s the gold standard here. Lose weight and let’s make it happen.”
When asked if he would be open to middleweight if the UFC approached him about fighting Chimaev there, the former champ was dismissive.
“Why are they approaching me for 185? He rated what, number three, right? In what division? The flabby weight. If you wanna fight, let’s fight.”
Watch the full UFC 290 media appearance by Kamaru Usman above.