Kamaru Usman might have found a new division.
The former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight kingpin, Usman, made his debut at Middleweight in a short-notice return bout at UFC 294 two weekends ago (Oct. 21, 2023). Tasked with rising undefeated superstar and former 170-pound contender, Khamzat Chimaev, Usman came up short by majority decision.
Usman performed valiantly, coming on stronger as the fight went on thanks to his championship experience. While the result wasn’t the desired one, “The Nigerian Nightmare” admits he liked the feeling of a different weight class after occupying Welterweight since 2012.
“The plans, I don’t know. It’s kind of foggy,” Usman said on his YouTube channel (h/t MMA Junkie). “I didn’t mind being up at 185. Yeah, of course, the size was a bit different in the beginning, but I’m a championship-level fighter, so from here on out, we want to make these five rounds and not three-rounders. I don’t know, 185 looked good on me, so we might. We’ll get back to y’all on that.”
Usman’s clash with Chimaev was his first time competing in a three-round non-title bout since defeating Emil Meek via unanimous decision in January 2018. Chimaev has yet to compete in a five-round contest in UFC and appeared to slightly slow down against Usman, providing many with the belief that two extra rounds could have changed things. For Usman, in particular, he hopes to get back to his trend of fighting with five rounds.
“Not give up takedowns,” Usman said. “He grabbed and I couldn’t defend. My knee, I was like, ‘F—k, my knee. I was like, The f.’
“But he was strong, but I gave him too much respect in there,” he continued. “I’m like, ‘He’s strong, but I fought strong guys before. I’m stronger than him.’ I gave him too much mentally, and I was trying to catch up, trying to catch up, but I don’t have those extra two rounds that I [usually have] to catch up. By the third round I was like, ‘Okay, I’m feeling good.’ And then the fight is over.”