Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz has left the door open for a potential future fight with welterweight titleholder Kamaru Usman.
Earlier this year, Usman, who has reigned supreme over the 170-pound division since 2019 and defended the title five times since his crowning, made headlines by revealing he’d considered a two-division championship quest in 2021, but by uniquely skipping a weight class.
With no desire to fight fellow African champ and friend Israel Adesanya, “The Nigerian Nightmare” had his sights set on light heavyweight gold. Usman later clarified that his champ-champ ambitions solely derived from his belief that then-titleholder Blachowicz was a favourable matchup for him.
“No disrespect to Jan. I think he’s a great competitor, he’s a very powerful guy, he’s got a lot of power in his hands, but I thought that was a matchup that favored me,” Usman said during an interview with CBS Sports.
As it turns out, a desire for that matchup isn’t one-sided.
Blachowicz On Usman Fight: Why Not?
During a recent interview with the New York Post, Blachowicz, who seemingly ended Usman’s 205-pound goals by dropping the belt to Glover Teixeira last October, admitted that it would be a “pleasure” to share the Octagon with the pound-for-pound best.
“He is the best fighter in the world right now, yes? That would be [a] pleasure for me to fight against someone like him,” said Blachowicz. “Why not? We can do it in [the] future. I will be ready. It will be [an] exciting fight.”
If Blachowicz is to make a date in the cage with Usman come to fruition, he’ll first have to reclaim his place on the light heavyweight throne, a feat that he’ll move closer to accomplishing if he can emerge victorious this weekend.
In the UFC Vegas 54 main event, the Polish powerhouse will face fellow European Aleksandar Raki? in what many perceive to be a title eliminator.
We've got an ALL European main event at #UFCVegas54!
@JanBlachowicz vs @Rakic_UFC
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) May 9, 2022
Should Blachowicz defeat the Austrian on Saturday and go on to dethrone either Teixeira or number-one contender Ji?í Procházka, perhaps Usman’s thoughts of a transition to light heavyweight will be re-ignited.
How do you think a fight between Jan Blachowicz and Kamaru Usman would play out?
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