SALT LAKE CITY – Kamaru Usman thinks he’s more than capable of handling the UFC’s light heavyweights.
Usman (20-1 MMA, 15-0 UFC), the UFC welterweight champion and No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter, is seriously considering jumping two weight divisions and competing at 205 pounds.
When asked what he would change in a weight class 35 pounds heavier than his, “The Nigerian Nightmare” said not much because he thinks he’s strong enough for the division.
“I don’t need to put on the weight,” Usman told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at Wednesday’s UFC 278 media day. “People don’t understand what my death grip is like. If I get around you, I don’t care if whether you’re a heavyweight or 205 – these guys understand where my strength is. But I’ll leave that up to my coaches. I have an idea what I want to do in a fight, but I’ll leave that up to my coaches.
“I have an approach of how I want to fight those fights in my head, which usually comes out when everything else is failing in a fight.”
Usman returns in Saturday’s UFC 278 headliner when he rematches Leon Edwards (19-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ABC/ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 278.
