Kamaru Usman in action against Colby Covington (Getty)
Kamaru Usman seemed very welcoming of a move to the middleweight division, but on one condition.
It looks like there is nothing left in the welterweight division for Usman to conquer. He has steamrolled any opponent who has come his way, claiming his 14th consecutive victory in the welterweight division at UFC 261.
The Nigerian Nightmare dilapidated Jorge Masvidal in the main event of UFC 261, which also saw him defend his welterweight title for the 4th successful time. Masvidal on the other hand was handed the first knockout loss of his UFC career.
Just like his Nigerian counterpart Israel Adesanya who has been reigning as the undisputed , king of the middleweight division, Usman has conquered the welterweight division to the fullest.
Adesanya then decided to move up to the light-heavyweight division seeking further challenges; unfortunately, his quest to become a double champ failed as he was thoroughly outclassed by a grapple-heavy Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259.
Speaking along those lines at the post-fight press conference, Usman was asked if he would ever move up to the middleweight division. The Nigerian Nightmare quickly stated that he would, but on one condition – he wouldn’t challenge for the title until his ‘brother Izzy was gone’.
This is what the champ had to say at the post-fight conference about moving to the middleweight division:
“I would definitely, but not if Israel is at that weight. That’s my brother and like I said, I’ve said it before – I’d rather have two Nigerians with belts than one with two belts.”
Usman had already gone past Georges St-Pierre’s record for the most consecutive wins in the welterweight division after beating Gilbert Burns at UFC 258 (13 wins).
And now, after beating Masvidal he made it 14, which is just 2 shy of Anderson Silva’s all-time record for the most consecutive wins in the UFC.
Going at such a rate, it is only a matter of time before ‘the Nigerian Nightmare’ is hailed as one of the greatest fighters of all time, if not, the greatest.
However, it looks like Usman has a rematch coming up with Colby Covington, as the pair would run back their brutal war at UFC 245, sometime this year.
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