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Kamaru Usman has revealed that he had plans to jump up two divisions and challenge former light heavyweight titleholder Jan Blachowicz in the past.
Usman has often maintained that he won't fight his good friend Israel Adesanya for the middleweight belt just to prove that he's the GOAT.
During a recent conversation with GQ magazine, 'The Nigerian Nightmare' claimed that he was ready to put on an extra 35 pounds and square off against Blachowicz in order to become a two-division UFC champ:
"I was going to skip Israel and go fight Jan at 205 [pounds]. Because I am the pound-for-pound [No.1 men's fighter in UFC], I want to prove it. No matter what weight it is, I thought he was a really good matchup for me. I think I would beat him."
Check out an excerpt from Kamaru Usman's GQ interview shared by MMA journalist Aaron Bronsteter below:
Jan Blachowicz successfully defended his light heavyweight title against Israel Adesanya at UFC 259 before dropping it to Glover Teixeira at UFC 267.
Former rival Leon Edwards will be the next title challenger for Kamaru Usman later this year
Dana White earlier stressed that after fighting three times in 2021 and completing five successful title defenses, Kamaru Usman will take a short break this year before fighting again.
With pay-per-view main events announced till UFC 274 in May 2022, Usman is expected to fight only in June or later. There has been a lot of speculation with respect to his next opponent.
White put the rumors to rest by confirming to TSN Sports that Leon Edwards will take on the champion next. Edwards is coming off a victory over Nate Diaz at UFC 263 and had a matchup versus Jorge Masvidal at UFC 269 canceled.
Meanwhile, Kamaru Usman last fought Colby Covington at UFC 268 in a rematch and won via a unanimous decision. He already beat 'Rocky' in a similar manner back in December 2015.
However, the UFC president thinks Edwards has earned his shot at Usman's title:
"100 percent... He deserves it [title shot]. If you look at it, Colby lost to Usman twice, Gilbert Burns lost, Leon is next. He is No.3 [in UFC welterweight rankings]."
Watch Dana White's conversation with TSN reporter and content editor Aaron Bronsteter below:
