Kamaru Usman has solidified his place as the best welterweight on the planet at the moment with his past few performances. In his last fight, he knocked out Jorge Masvidal in brutal fashion at UFC 261. However, the recent claims made by his manager Ali Abdelaziz in an interview with ESPN do not put a good image of Usman among the fans.
Ali Abdelaziz claimed that Kamaru Usman wants to fight on June 12 in the same card as Israel Adesanya. Now it makes sense that Usman wants to stay active, which is very rare for a UFC champion. Since the pandemic outbreak, Kamaru Usman is the only UFC champion to defend his belt 3 times.
But, the fact that he wants to defend the title against Michael Chiesa while Colby Covington is still waiting for his rematch might not make sense for most of the fans. Ali Abdelaziz, however, has a fascinating explanation for his statement. Abdelaziz said:
“Kamaru in the last 10 months fought 3 times. Colby in the last 3 years fought 3 times. After Kamaru destroyed his jaw and disfigured his face, Kamaru went and fought 3 times against very tough opponents. He went and fought Woodley, a guy who is not even in UFC anymore. If four years ago he beat him maybe Colby Covington go for a business who cares. Chiesa has a four-fight winning streak, Vicente Luque 3 fight winning streak, Leon Edwards 9 fight winning streak, why Colby Covington is so special?”
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Who should Kamaru Usman fight next?
Ali Abdelaziz even said that there is a possibility Kamaru Usman will move up to the middleweight division to fight for the title if Vettori beats Adesanya at UFC 263. He also revealed that Usman asked for a fight against Michael Chiesa for the UFC 263 PPV. Abdelaziz continued:
“What about Kamaru, if Marvin Vettori beat Israel Adesanya, why not Kamaru can go up and fight Marvin Vettori for the middleweight title. Kamaru has earned every right to do whatever he wants right now. But we are respectful to Dana and his wishes and we’re going to work together regardless. Kamaru called me yesterday. He said June 12th, let’s throw Michael Chiesa, he asked me who has the longest winning streak in the division.”
Read More: Is Kamaru Usman ducking Colby Covington?
Though Michael Chiesa is an up-and-coming contender in the division and has an impressive win streak he does not deserve a title shot. The best win of his welterweight run has been against Neil Magny who is ranked no 9 at the moment. Besides that, Chiesa’s performance against Magny was not impressive enough to earn him a shot at the title.
There are some interesting matchups ahead of Usman both in the welterweight and middleweight division. But Kamaru Usman vs Colby Covington rematch makes the most sense if Usman is to fight at 170.