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Kamaru Usman not only has his eyes on regaining his place on the UFC's welterweight throne but also envisions capturing the promotion's middleweight strap. While, Dricus du Plessis has a looming title defense coming up against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 on Aug. 16, 'Stillknocks' is firmly in the crosshairs of the UFC Atlanta victor as talks ramp up around Usman's middleweight run.
This was expressed by Usman following his thorough win over surging contender Joaquin Buckley on June 14 in Atlanta during an interview with TMZ Sports with an excerpt from the overall chat posted to X account @RedCorner_MMA.
When expounding upon his grand plan for the next year and a half, Kamaru Usman said:
"After getting that [welterweight] belt, hey, they [UFC] have asked and they've waited for years and years for me to go up and get that middleweight strap and why not? I will relinquish that if Dricus du Plessis is still the champion - all African card. Africa vs. Africa, first card in Africa. UFC is close to getting that done."
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He added:
"Hey, South Africa vs. Nigeria - I mean, it's a rivalry that's been built forever, you know, sports rivalry. So I think that's another blockbuster and I think those are two mega events that you're going to remember for generations. So if; manifestation is very, very powerful. If things start to fall in line, I think we're gonna see a pretty interesting next 18 months."
Check out Kamaru Usman's vision below:
Kamaru Usman could also fight another pound for pound ranked fighter on this post-UFC Atlanta journey
Kamaru Usman could potentially find himself on a collision course with the UFC's No. 1 pound-for-pound ranked fighter prior to that desired Dricus du Plessis clash, depending on how things play out.
Islam Makhachev's coach Javier Mendez believes in the possibility that the 38-year-old could end up fighting Makhachev in the future and indicated as such during an interview on Submission Radio.
Mendez stated:
"[Usman's] right in line with JDM, 100 percent. I think all those guys are really trouble for everybody. Shavkat [Rakhmonov], Ian Garry, there are so many guys in that division that Islam hasn't fought either."
Check out Javier Mendez's comments below (2:10):
