Kamaru Usman, UFC welterweight champion has fired back at Conor McGregor’s recent attempt to set up a 170-pound title clash. Kamaru Usman, the world #1 pound for pound fighter, is a hot property in one of the most competitive divisions in the UFC, and he told TMZ even the massive payday of taking on Conor McGregor isn’t enough to earn his attention right now.
He started by acknowledging Khamzat Chimaev’s surge through the welterweight ranks, acknowledging that everybody in the division wants a piece of the “Nigerian Nightmare”.
Usman: “Loudmouth” McGregor “Not Relevant”
“He’s gone out there and he’s beat the No. 2 guy in the division. He got the ‘W’, so it’s very difficult for me to say, ‘No, he doesn’t deserve anything.’
No, he went up there, he’s gone up against Gilbert Burns and he was able to go out there and do what he needed to do, so I take nothing away from him. If that’s the fight then that’s the fight. If that’s not the fight, then that’s not the fight.
Right now, we’ve kind of got Leon Edwards sitting there. You’ve got the other loudmouth little kid, what’s his name, the Irish kid, the Irish guy — you’ve got the Irish guy [Conor McGregor] on the side running his mouth too.
You forget [about him], but this is why you forget. You forget because this guy is not relevant. He hasn’t done anything in this sport as of late. So in order for him to be relevant, he has to try to attach his name to someone who is relevant.”
Khamzat Chimaev, though, is more than relevant. “But [Chimaev] has done a good job going out there and defeating the No. 2 guy in the division. So yeah, if that’s the next fight after Edwards, then that’s the next fight. But Edwards is our focus right now.”
Usman is set to take on Leon Edwards for his next title defense, but he’s very aware that Khamzat Chimaev has explicitly stated that he’s coming for the belt one day. That day might come sooner than anticipated, but the champ is far from worried.
“Just because the people didn’t see it and the people didn’t know it, because he had only been touched one time, that doesn’t mean they weren’t present.
They were definitely still there. And of course, I got a better indication of how would deal with what I would bring to the table.” Would you rather see Usman fight McGregor or Khamzat? Let us know in the comments.
