With Kamaru Usman set to face off against Joaquin Buckley in this Saturday’s UFC Fight Night main event, Kamaru Usman has laid out his plans for the future, with the former welterweight champion aiming for double champ status. Usman has not held the UFC title for nearly three years, with back-to-back title fight losses against Leon Edwards and a middleweight bout with Khamzat Chimaev. The fight with Chimaev took place in October 2023 and the long layoff has raised questions about Usman’s future prospects in the sport.
Still, Usman has championship pedigree and presents a challenge to anyone in both the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions. Speaking at the UFC Media Day, Usman said, “Just layout the map right here. Finish Buckley this weekend and then wait for the winner of Islam and JDM which is gonna be an incredible fight. Such a great thing having Islam come up into the division. Who wouldn’t buy a ticket to that? Former pound-for-pound and current pound-for-pound. And I love Islam. Islam is a great fighter. I think that’s something we’d both remember forever.”
Usman added, “I’ll probably vacate, go up. Myself, Dricus Du Plessis if he is the champion or Khamzat Chimaev, if Dricus is no longer the champion and if Dricus is the champion, we’ll do that in the first card in Africa. I mean, that’s another blockbuster.”
While it seems like a tall task for Usman to even regain his welterweight belt, Usman’s last performance against Khamzat Chimaev was impressive, particularly in the second and third rounds where he was appearing to take over, with some fans theorising that Usman would have won if it was a five-rounder. So, despite the loss, Kamaru Usman did have a good performance against Chimaev who many believe will dethrone DDP. As for a fight against Islam or JDM, both present challenges for Usman, with JDM showing his ability to keep the fight standing in his fight against Belal Muhammad. As for Islam, it is hard to imagine that Kamaru would be able to dominate him on the ground either. Still, his power and conditioning mixed with his well-rounded game means that Usman would be a challenge for either man.
Whilst it seems like this weekend is make or break for Usman’s title aspirations, a win against a surging contender in Buckley would be ultra-impressive and would put his name back in the title picture.
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