Kamaru Usman is one of the best welterweight fighters in recent memory. According to UFC President Dana White, Usman is the GOAT of the 170lbs division. Although some may make an argument for Georges St-Pierre, Usman is certainly up there as one of the most decorated welterweight champions of all time. However, “The Nigerian Nightmare” has been absent from the Octagon for quite some time.
In his last contest, Usman ended up on the losing side against Khamzat Chimaev. The Nigerian-American fighter made his middleweight debut in the contest at UFC 294. It was an equally hard task for both Chimaev and Usman who had separate sets of challenges infront of them. While it was the first time Khamzat was facing someone elite like Kamaru, the latter was fighting at 185lbs weight-class for the first time.
It was certainly an even contest that lasted all 3 rounds in Abu Dhabi. Usman landed 36 significant strikes in the bout and managed 58 strikes in total. However, his Khamzat challenged his takedown defense quite a lot as the Chechen fighter managed 7 takedowns in the contest and had 7:16 minutes of control time in the fight. Despite that, Usman managed to hold his own and ultimately lost the contest via a majority decision.
Kamaru Usman is not rushing back to the Octagon
Although Kamaru Usman is not in a fight camp or making any moves to find a bout for himself, he is not sitting idle. Along with the former UFC double-champion Henry Cejudo, Kamaru has launched a brand new podcast, “Pound 4 Pound with Kamaru & Henry.” In a recent episode of the podcast, the duo had Shaquille O’Neal as the guest. They spoke on various issues on the podcast, including what’s next for Usman.
In response to Shaq’s question, the 36-year-old added, “Taking a little break right now, letting the body heal.”
Considering his age and the stage of his career Kamaru Usman is in, it is certainly a good decision. Fans have seen fighters like Tony Ferguson who have returned too soon after a loss and their career went down the hill. Hene, the Kamaru should take as much time as he wants until his body feels good enough to fight again.
What is next for Kamaru Usman after losing three fights in a row?
Kamaru Usman had one of the longest winning streaks in the UFC. Usman joined the company in 2015 and he won 15 fights in a row. He has wins over elite fighters like Sean Strickland, Rafael dos Anjos, Tyron Woodley, and Colby Covington. Kamaru won the welterweight belt at UFC 235 against Woodley and defended it 5 times. However, his legendary run ended when Leon Edwards knocked him out via a head kick at UFC 278.
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With just 50 seconds to go in the bout, Usman was leading on the scorecards. But, Edwards pulled off a kick that Usman never saw coming and it knocked him out cold. After that, he had a rematch against Leon at UFC 286 in London. Although he went the full distance, Usman still fell short as Edwards retained the title via a majority decision.
And, the UFC 294 loss against Khamzat Chimaev was his third loss in a row. Currently, Usman holds the no. 1 ranking in the welterweight division and he is yet to be ranked in the middleweight division. However, there were talks of Usman going up against former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, who is ranked 3rd in the division. Bobby Knuckles stated previously that he wanted a fight with Usman at middleweight.
So what do you want to see Kamaru Usman do next? Let us know in the comments below.