UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya downplayed the idea of a superfight with welterweight champion and fellow Nigerian Kamaru Usman.
Adesanya is set to face Robert Whittaker in a title rematch at UFC 271 this weekend. Whittaker has worked his way back to the title shot after losing the belt to Adesanya at UFC 243.
If Adesanya defeats Whittaker once again, he’ll begin his path to potentially lapping the division. MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz has recently teased the idea of Adesanya and Usman fighting each other at some point and putting their friendship aside.
Israel Adesanya Responds To Kamaru Usman’s Manager Touting Potential Bout
During a recent interview with TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter, Adesanya addressed the idea of fighting Usman for big money.
“Kamaru can speak for himself and he has, and I’ve spoken for myself and we said we wouldn’t fight each other,” Adesanya said. “For me personally, it’s bigger than money. Also, I have nothing to gain. It’s the guy coming up from a lower-weight class that looks to challenge himself that’s almost the protagonist of the story. That gets to rise to the occasion and that’s cool, but Kamaru’s not interested.
“Ali is just greedy. He sees dollar signs, but I’m like you can make that money elsewhere. But he’s just super greedy and for me, it’s bigger than money.” (h/t MMA Junkie)
Adesanya is undefeated in his MMA middleweight career with his lone blemish coming against Jan Blachowicz for the light heavyweight title at UFC 259. He’s defended the middleweight belt three times including in dominant performances against Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori.
Usman recently underwent surgery on his hand and is expected to return against Leon Edwards later this year. At least for now, it appears any hopes of a superfight are diminished.
Do you think we’ll ever see Israel Adesanya vs. Kamaru Usman?