Former UFC welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman, has big plans in the UFC as he eyes both his former title and the middleweight crown.
‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ has been out of action since a rematch with Leon Edwards in March.
At UFC 286, Kamaru Usman suffered his second-straight loss to the Brit, this time by unanimous decision.
Following the defeat, the former champion was linked to a matchup with Stephen Thompson.
However, he will instead move to middleweight this Saturday night to face Khamazat Chimaev.
The Swedish fighter was originally slated to face Paulo Costa, but the Brazilian was pulled out due to an elbow injury.
As a result, Usman chose to step up on less than two weeks’ notice to fight at UFC 294.
However, despite his upcoming debut at 185 pounds, Kamaru Usman isn’t done at welterweight revealing this in a recent interview with TMZ Sports.
Along with that, the Nigerian fighter stated that he planned to win gold at both weight classes, and then hinted at a retirement.
“Sean Strickland is a champion, I’ve already taken care of him,” Kamaru Usman stated in the interview discussing his champ-champ aspirations.
“Not to say he’s not better, he is. But I’ve got a mountain in front of me that I need to climb and scale so we’ll get through that first.
“Then we’ll worry about what’s next, but it’s a no-brainer. No (I’m not done at welterweight), absolutely not”, Usman said, adding “What a way to go out! I might mic drop. Grab the middleweight belt, go down, grab the welterweight. What a way to go out though. I want both! I’ve wanted champ-champ, but what a way. To go get the top one, then come back down and get it. Nobody has ever done that, it would be crazy.”
Israel Adesanya was initially expected to get an immediate title rematch against Strickland following his loss at UFC 293, but after the announcement of his hiatus, his compatriot, Usman has now gotten the shot.
