Kamaru Usman, the current UFC welterweight champion, made headlines when he expressed his desire to fight rising star Khamzat Chimaev in his next bout, but UFC president Dana White has other plans.
While Usman acknowledged the potential challenges of the matchup, he believed it would be an exciting spectacle for fans of the sport.
However, the weight class for the potential fight remained uncertain, with Kamaru expressing interest in a catchweight bout rather than a strict welterweight or middleweight matchup.
Despite the uncertainty, fans and analysts alike were buzzing with anticipation at the possibility of this highly anticipated clash of MMA titans.
“A fight with myself and Khamzat? Boom,” Usman told ESPN. “I’m kind of in a place now where I’m having fun with it, and what’s the biggest, funnest, most intense fight that really makes me feel something? That’s a fight right there. That could headline a pay-per-view.”
Usman further elaborated on his willingness to fight Chimaev, noting that he does not solely focus on the weight of his opponents, but rather their fighting spirit.
Dana White shuts down the speculations
Kamaru cited his ability to spar with middleweights and light heavyweights in training as evidence of his versatility as a fighter. However, despite Usman’s openness to a catchweight bout, UFC President Dana recently dismissed the idea, stating that he has no intention of scheduling catchweight fights.
White suggested that if Usman truly desires a matchup against Chimaev, he would need to move up a weight class to middleweight. This announcement has added further speculation to the already intense anticipation surrounding a potential clash between these two formidable fighters.
Kamaru Usman vs. Khamzat Chimaev?
Dana White tells @jimrome it's possible, but not at a catchweight. Usman would have to move up to 185 pounds for it to happen. pic.twitter.com/v1BWfKQvzJ
— John Morgan (@JohnMorgan_MMA) May 4, 2023
“What I hate about that fight and (Usman) calling him out, Usman is calling him out at a catchweight, I don’t do catchweights, I don’t like catchweights. Catchweights mean nothing. They mean absolutely nothing. If (Usman) wants to move up to 185 and fight (Chimaev), we could talk about it. But trying to fight him at a catchweight, I’m not interested in,” White said on The Jim Rome Show.
At present, it remains unclear whether Usman has any intention of moving up to the 185-pound weight class, which is the only way White has indicated that the Usman-Chimaev matchup would take place.
What are your thoughts on the potential outcome of a fight between Usman and Chimaev? Let us know in the comment section below.
