February 8, 2025

‘They’re not on my level’… Kamaru Usman names the four fighters he’d like to face in his UFC return


Kamaru Usman sends a warning to the four fighters in his ‘Nightmare’ crosshairs ahead of his long-awaited UFC return bout.

Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman might be on a three-fight losing streak, but that doesn’t mean that ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ is done with terrorizing the 170lb weight class – and now the fan-favorite star is taking aim at four of the division’s top prospects.

Kamaru Usman of Nigeria prepares to face Khamzat Chimaev of the United Arab Emirates in a middleweight fight during the UFC 294 event at Etihad Are...
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Kamaru Usman names the four UFC fighters he’s got in his crosshairs

After dropping his UFC title in the most dramatic of fashion to Leon Edwards back in 2022, Kamaru Usman would go on to lose the trilogy fight at UFC 286 before stepping up on short notice to fight Khamzat Chimaev in October 2023.

Whilst that bout ended up taking place at middleweight, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ hasn’t ruled out a return to his old stomping ground in the hope of reclaiming welterweight gold.

On the latest episode of the Pound-4-Pound podcast, Usman teased that his next opponent could indeed be one of the welterweight division’s top prospects; one of either Shavkat Rakhmonov, Ian Machado Garry, Jack Della Maddalena, or Belal Muhammad.

“I’m not going to say ‘of course’, [but] I’m going to say that there’s a huge chance that it comes down to one of these guys because these are the streaky guys right now.

“These are the ‘hot’ guys – as I like to think of it, these are the new ‘hot chicks’ in the division right now and of course, you know we love hot chicks.”

After co-host Henry Cejudo had finished laughing at the rather unusual analogy, Usman doubled down on his callout; stating that whilst these four fighters represent ‘the best of the rest’, they still can’t hold a candle to the former pound-for-pound king.

“Ey, you know [what I mean with] the analogy, these are the new hot chicks right now in town… These are the hot prospects right now in the division and of course, staying at welterweight I would have to choose one of these guys – you know it is what it is, I have no problem with either one.

“I think they’re all great fighters, they’re tough, young [and] strong fighters making their way up and it’s up to me to go and show them that they’re not there yet, that they’re not on my level yet.”

Usman, who turned 38 years old earlier this year, also noted that no matter how ‘hot’ the prospect, he has the experience and know-how to derail any hype train in the UFC.

“I’ve been doing this, I have been [and] always will be the bogeyman of that welterweight division, but it is what it is.”

Out of the four opponents, three of them don’t have their next fight signed

So, out of the four potential opponents named by Kamaru Usman, who is the most likely candidate to get that fight next?

First up, Shavkat Rakhmonov: The 18-0 ‘Nomad’ might be one of the best fighters in the division but just two fights in two years have somewhat stalled his ascent up the welterweight rankings.

This is contrasted to the rapid rise of Ian Machado Garry, who has rattled off five wins since 2022 – including his decision win over Michael ‘Venom’ Page a few weeks ago at UFC 303.

The good news for Usman is that neither Rakhmonov nor Ian Machado Garry have their next fight booked, although there is a chance that the UFC will actually match the two together following The Future’s callout of the Kazakh warrior at UFC 303.

Jack Della Maddalena is also in a rather peculiar spot, having been forced into a period of rest and recovery following a nasty infection sustained from arm surgery earlier in the year.

Despite himself sharing that he wouldn’t be recovered in time for UFC 305 in Perth, his name did feature on the recent ‘War Room’ leak regarding that main card, suggesting a return might be closer than first expected.

Finally, we have the one fighter named by Usman who already has his next fight booked – and it’s a big one, Belal Muhammad, who faces Leon Edwards in the main event of UFC 304 next weekend.

Unsurprisingly, given that Muhammad is one of those four names mentioned, Usman believes that his former rival will successfully defend the welterweight title in front of his home crowd on July 27.

Speaking on the ESPN MMA post-show after UFC Denver last weekend, he teased that he’d like to see “that killer come out” of Leon Edwards.

Out of the four potential opponents, who would you like to see Usman fight next?

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