Kamaru Usman has said that he was willing to jump up two weight classes to fight for a second UFC title to prove his pound-for-pound No.1 status.
The UFC welterweight champion is considered the best fighter in the world, and fans have wanted to see him jump up in weight to challenge for a second belt.
But given his close friendship with Israel Adesanya, who holds the belt at middleweight, he said he was planning on instead skipping the 185lb division and going straight to light heavyweight.
The weight limit for the UFC's second heaviest division is 205lb, a whopping 35lb more than Usman's last few weigh-ins for his world title fights in the promotion.
But he wanted to prove that he could win a belt at another weight, while still maintaining his relationship with fellow Nigerian Adesanya, so he set out to challenge Jan Blachowicz for his title.
“I was going to skip Israel and go fight Jan at 205,” Usman told GQ.
“Because I’m pound-for-pound, I want to prove it. No matter what weight it is, I thought he was a really good matchup for me.”
But Blachowicz lost his belt in the meantime to veteran Glover Texeira, who when asked about, Usman responded: “I think I would beat him."
The welterweight champion was an underdog when he faced Tyron Woodley for the world title back in 2019, but has since proven his dominance over the division.
He annihilated Woodley to win the belt by unanimous decision, before handing handing Colby Covington his first knockout defeat in a title defence the following December.
Usman was set to face Gilbert Burns in the summer of 2020, but when the Brazilian pulled out he was forced to face the renowned knockout artist Jorge Masvidal on just a weeks' notice instead.
He comfortably out-grappled Masvidal to win on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi in what was one of the biggest pay-per-view events of the year.
But fans were unhappy with his style against the Florida native, so he switched things up to knock out Burns, before brutally stopping Masvidal in a rematch the following April.
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He most recently defended his title for the fourth time in another rematch, this time taking a close decision against Covington, who is widely considered the second best welterweight in the world.
It now remains to be seen who Usman will fight next, with Adesanya currently set to face Robert Whittaker in a world title rematch next month at UFC 271.
Burns and Covington are the top two contenders in the division, both of whom he has stopped within the last year.
Next in line is Leon Edwards, who lost their meeting in December of 2015 before launching an impressive ten-fight unbeaten run that has seen him seemingly earn another shot.
But should Adesanya lose the title to Whittaker, Usman could wait to see if he can get a shot at becoming the next UFC double champion.
He has also flirted with a move to boxing to face undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez, although that fight would be difficult to make.
