Oklahoma City — Kamaru Usman returns to the spotlight this Saturday, as the former undisputed UFC welterweight champion headlines UFC Oklahoma City, in a middleweight match-up.
Usman (21-4), coming off a win over Joaquin Buckley at 170lbs over a year ago, now faces off with a fellow former champ, Dricus Du Plessis.
Speaking with Cageside Press and other media outlets during Wednesday’s UFC Oklahoma City media day, Usman explained that coming off a dominant performance against Buckley, the decision to move up in weight was about “just the opportunity. Like I like to joke and say, I’m a moneyweight fighter now. If it’s up at welterweight I’ll do it, if it’s up at middleweight I’ll do it, if it’s up at light heavyweight, I might do it.”
There’s an argument to be made that the path to a title shot might actually be shorter at middleweight, where Usman previously faced Khamzat Chimaev. “The Nigerian Nightmare” doesn’t necessarily agree with that perspective, however.
“I wouldn’t say that. I wouldn’t say easier. It just made sense,” stated Usman, who for a time had been linked to a welterweight title fight with champ Islam Makhachev. Both fighters seemed to be on board with the idea; ultimately the UFC went in another direction.
“I obviously wanted the Islam fight, we talked about that, and I thought that was what was going to be next, but unfortunately in things like this, the company has a say, a big say in this. And they felt like this was an opportunity,” explained Usman. “Obviously I’ve been up here before [at middleweight] and fought the former champion, so this one just made sense at this time, but it’s definitely not easy. I wouldn’t say easier.”
Usman pointed to fighters like Caio Borralho, Gregory “Robocop” Rodrigues, Nassourdine Imavov and others, likening the division’s talents to Michael Morales and Carlos Prates at welterweight. Both are deep weight classes, in other words.
Having fought against Chimaev, and seen the dominant showing Khamzat put on against Dricus Du Plessis, you might expect fellow wrestler Kamaru Usman to be brimming with confidence. That’s not quite the case, however, as Du Plessis’s past struggles with wrestling may not dictate how the fight plays out.
“I wouldn’t say necessarily confidence. That’s the big thing, a lot of people are looking like this like ‘oh yeah you’re a wrestler, you’re just going to wrestle.’ No, there’s a lot of things. When I watch fights, it’s not just ‘oh he exploited that, that’s what I’m going to do too.’ It’s different. Different styles make fights, different fighters make fights. And the biggest thing that I don’t think people understand unless they’re actually in there is, it’s the spiritual aspect of it too,” stated Usman. “You have to deal with his spirit. Yeah just because Chimaev had success doing all that, that doesn’t necessarily mean the next wrestler is going to have that level of success. It’s how he deal with my spirit.”
Usman pointed out that he could strike, piece his opponent up, or take Du Plessis down. “I respect his spirit, he fights hard, he’s big, he’s strong and he’s going to come into the fight, and whatever he gives me, that’s the spiritual dance. Whatever he gives me, I’m going to take and try to exploit. So it’s not just about the wrestling, it’s just about being a complete fighter and going out there and being able to do what I do best, which is dominate.”
Watch the full UFC Oklahoma City media day appearance by Kamaru Usman above.
