Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight contender Kamaru Usman, ranked No. 3 in the official Top 10, is being considered for a 170-pound title shot after disposing of Rafael dos Anjos last month on FOX Sports 1 in Las Vegas.
Whether that shot comes against former interim titleholder, Colby Covington, or reigning division kingpin, Tyron Woodley, remains to be seen, but promotion president Dana White sounds like he’s ready to pull the trigger on one of the two.
Inexplicably, “The Nigerian Nightmare” foolishly chose the chance to win gold over the opportunity to have a caged wrestle-off against ONE Championship import Ben Askren, who is back on Twitter calling people names.
“Mr. Usman, we find ourselves in a situation where you are looking like quite the hypocrite,” Askren told his Instagram followers. “As we all know, Mr. Tyron Woodley is injured, can’t fight Colby. We know you want to fight Colby. We know Colby’s a scared little bitch, and that’s fine. But I have made my services available to you for a fight on January 26 and now you’re trying to play the same game as Colby is. Colby’s ignoring you, now you’re ignoring me. Don’t be a hypocrite, don’t be a little bitch like Colby. I’ll be there, January 26. I hope you’re there also.”
Usman frequently criticizes Covington for ducking him — even to his face (watch it).
Askren’s sudden smear campaign comes at a strange time. “Funky” is already booked to make his Octagon debut against former welterweight champion, Robbie Lawler, at the UFC 233 pay-per-view (PPV) event next month in Anaheim (details here).
Regardless, the 170-pound title picture is a hot mess. Covington was supposed to fight for the title last fall, but chose to go on vacation instead. Woodley is expected to headline UFC 233 opposite “Chaos,” but now White suggests “The Chosen One” is playing hard to get.
Seems like Askren and Usman are the only ones eager to fight these days, so perhaps it’s simply a matter of time before they fight each other.