Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman believes he has the style to defeat current champ Islam Makhachev.
Makhachev fought and defeated Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330 this past Saturday in Philadelphia. But before Machado Garry was granted the title shot, there were talks that Usman could potentially get it instead, given his status as a former welterweight great, a UFC legend, and the fact that he was coming off a dominant win over Joaquin Buckley.
Instead, Usman was not given the title shot and moved up to middleweight, where he fought and lost a decision to former UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis. That left Machado Garry as the next title contender at 170 lbs, but he lost a competitive decision to Makhachev at UFC 330.
But while Machado Garry lost, Usman is convinced he would have defeated Makhachev.
Kamaru Usman Says He Would Have Beaten Islam Makhachev
Speaking on the “Pound 4 Pound” podcast, Usman says he is convinced he would have beaten Makhachev at UFC 330, and he hopes that he can still get the chance to face him in the future, though he knows his last loss to du Plessis hurts his chances going forward.
“There are really, really good guys coming up that are going to turn into killers. Good guys, I understand that, but right now, being honest with you, with all the styles that I see and the MMA mathematics, how it works out, I felt that, hey, styles make fights. I’m telling you guys I can get that done. Everyone’s like, ‘You don’t deserve it.’ Listen, I get it. I understand. I took a step back, and it is what it is. I said I’ll just sit out for a while and then obviously took the chances, and we know how that went,” Usman said (via MMAjunkie.com).
Kamaru Usman Says Ian Machado Garry Didn’t Deserve Title Shot
With other welterweight contenders such as Carlos Prates and Michael Morales knocking people out left and right, Usman did not believe that Machado Garry was deserving of getting the title shot against Makhachev, and he feels vindicated in saying that after seeing Makhachev defeat the Irishman at UFC 330.
“Looking at the landscape of things: First of all, I said of course Ian says these things because he’s either trying to convince himself or he does truly believe that he’s capable of doing these things. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, but based on my observation and what I see from these guys, I didn’t think Ian was the No. 1 guy to get that shot,” Usman said.
Given that Usman is 39 years old now, he knows that time is running out for him to get a title shot at any weight class.
But if he can return to the Octagon and perhaps fight someone like Prates or Morales and pick up a huge upset win against either of those fighters, then he could potentially slip back into the top contender’s spot at 170 lbs and get the title shot against Makhachev that he craves.
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