Like many dominant title holders, Kamaru
Usman has harbored dreams of becoming a UFC two-division
champion.
However, with fellow Nigerian Israel
Adesanya reigning atop the middleweight division, moving up
just one weight class was never a consideration for Usman. Instead,
the welterweight king last year had designs on moving up two weight
classes to face then 205-pound champ Jan
Blachowicz.
“I was going to skip Israel and go fight Jan at 205 [pounds],”
Usman told GQ. “Because
I’m pound-for-pound, I want to prove it. No matter what weight it
is, I thought he was a really good matchup for me.
“I think I would beat him.”
That hypothetical is less likely to become a reality now after
Glover
Teixeira vanquished Blachowicz to become the light heavyweight
champion at UFC 267 this past October. Teixeira already has his
first title defense scheduled against Jiri
Prochazka in May. And Usman, who beat Colby
Covington in a rematch at UFC 268, is widely expected to face
Leon
Edwards when he returns to the Octagon.