Kamaru Usman has options going forward with his championship-caliber career.
The former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight champion has been absent from the win column since his unanimous decision victory against Colby Covington in their UFC 268 rematch in November 2021. Usman’s three-fight losing skid is deceiving, however, as he put up competitive efforts in all three with the first two against the current champion, Leon Edwards, before his short-notice Middleweight debut vs. Khamzat Chimaev this past October 2023.
The divisional change has provided Usman with an easier path to a title fight as long as his Welterweight successor, Edwards, holds gold. The only problem is that his friend and fellow former titleholder, Israel Adesanya, will likely have the opportunity to recapture championship status first against the Middleweight kingpin, Dricus Du Plessis. Adesanya was the reason Usman didn’t move up sooner to pursue dual-division champion status, therefore, the same type of situation would happen again if Adesanya can return to the 185-pound in 2024.
“It does play a factor, yes, a bit,” Usman said on his Pound 4 Pound podcast (h/t MMA News) of the Middleweight title scene impacting his next move. “Because, I mean, I’m sitting right up there. It’s not like, oh, I’m jumping into the Top 15 slowly and fighting 14 and 13 and 12, no. I’m right up there, so it’s one of those things.
“Had Sean Strickland stayed the champion, I mean, that’s a no-brainer fight, you know?” he continued. “Myself and Sean Strickland have fought before, that made sense, but unfortunately, that’s not the case now. If they do do the Adesanya and Du Plessis [fight], makes sense, yes. Though obviously the winner of that would — the outcome of that would kind of play a factor in my decision.”
Adesanya hasn’t fought since he dropped the Middleweight title to Strickland via a unanimous decision at UFC 293 in September 2023 (watch highlights). Rumors swirled about the possibility of a return at UFC 300 for the Du Plessis clash next month (Sat., April 13, 2024). Instead, the top of the Middleweight division continues waiting in suspense for the next title tilt.