Kamaru Usman reacts to John McCarthy saying he would get "lit up" by Nick Diaz

Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman has reacted to John McCarthy's latest bold claim. The former UFC referee believes Usman would struggle with the stand-up of Nick Diaz and would resort to type, taking his opponent to the ground and wrestling him instead.

The comments from 'Big' John McCarthy come after Nick Diaz revealed in an interview with TMZ Sports that he'd be interested in fighting 'The Nigerian Nightmare' for the welterweight title. The 38-year-old hasn't fought since 2021 when he retired in the third round against Robbie Lawler. Diaz's fight last year in September ended a six-year hiatus from the octagon.

Nick Diaz has not won a UFC fight since 2011 and has spent very little time in the octagon over the last few years. However, McCarthy is convinced Diaz would light up Usman on the feet.

The former referee said on the WEIGHING IN podcast:

"If there's one thing that you'd know about Nick, he's gonna come and give you everything that he's got. Would I mind seeing him against Kamaru? No, I wouldn't, other than this – Kamaru would stand with him until he started getting lit up. And then he's gonna go and use his wrestling, which he should, not saying he shouldn't, but what is Nick always complaining about? People wrestling and it's always on the ground."

Kamaru Usman has responded to John McCarthy's statement on Instagram.

Kamaru Usman comments with the 'eyes' emoji as a reaction to the quote

This isn't the first time Kamaru Usman's stand-up skills have been questioned. Before the 35-year-old's first fight with Colby Covington, it was expected Usman would try and dominate the grappling and wrestling due to Covington's pressure in the stand-up. Instead, the two men fought on their feet for almost the entire fight.

Usman has even won three of his last five bouts via TKO or KO. Finishes over Colby Covington, Gilbert Burns and a vicious KO of Jorge Masvidal highlighted the improvement in the stand-up game by the Nigerian-American.

Watch John McCarthy discuss Nick Diaz versus Kamaru Usman here:

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Kamaru Usman versus Canelo Alvarez is off, says Ali Abdelaziz

Ali Abdelaziz, the manager of Kamaru Usman, has all but confirmed that the potential superfight between the welterweight champion and Canelo Alvarez won't be happening.

In an interview at the Eagle FC 47 event, Abdelaziz admitted that he believes Alvarez made a mistake by not accepting the fight before his loss to Dmitry Bivol early last month:

"Canelo has become just a regular guy. He became just one of the guys. I don't think he's the pound-for-pound king anymore. For Canelo, though, his mystique is gone. When people lose their mystique, it leaves them. I respect Canelo, but I think he blew a great opportunity for him [to fight Usman]."

Despite strong confidence from both Ali Abdelaziz and Usman, a chance of victory in a boxing match over a fighter as elite as Canelo Alvarez would have been miniscule at best. Usman will now instead focus on his recovery from hand surgery. The champion is expected to make his octagon return later this year.

Watch Ali Abdelaziz's interview at EAGLE FC 47 here: