Already holding a one-sided unanimous decision win over Sean Strickland all the way back in 2017, former welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman has admitted that while the incumbent middleweight best has made improvements to his game, he still presents a “nightmare” stylistic matchup for him.
Usman, a former undisputed welterweight champion under the banner of the promotion and former pound-for-pound number one, returns to the Octagon this weekend in the co-main event of UFC 294, taking an impromptu middleweight fight with the unbeaten, Khamzat Chimaev on just 10 days’ notice.
With the added spoils of landing a title fight with Strickland off the back of a potential win over Chimaev, Auchi native, Usman previously landed a unanimous judging win over the former back in 2017, as part of a mesmerizing 15-fight undefeated run to kick-off his Octagon tenure.
And breaking down a potential rematch with Strickland in the future should he hand Chimaev his first professional defeat, Usman claimed that despite wholesale changes to his game, he still presents a “nightmare” matchup for the middleweight kingpin.
Kamaru Usman likes his chances in a rematch with Sean Strickland
“This is MMA, styles make fights,” Kamaru Usman told assembled media during his availability ahead of UFC 294. “Sean (Strickland), I think he’s definitely grown a lot, of course, but I think most important he’s grown into his identity of a fighter. He accepts the fact that he fights a particular style, a particular way, and he’s just leaned into it and grown exponentially, and now he’s the champion.”
“But styles make fights, you know,” Kamaru Usman explained. “I said it when i came into the game. I’m a nightmare for a certain people to deal with, and I just think that matchup is a nightmare for Sean Strickland. But he’s grown exponentially. He’s improved.”
Would you like to see Kamaru Usman fight Sean Strickland again for the title?