Kamaru Usman is still steadfast in his belief he could’ve moved up two divisions to light heavyweight when he was still welterweight champion and defeated the champion at the time.
Usman (20-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC) was written off as crazy several years ago when he faced off with then-light heavyweight titleholder Jan Blachowicz backstage at a UFC event and teased moving up 35 pounds in weight.
It never materialized, and both men eventually lost their championship belts. Usman most recently competed at middleweight for the first time with a narrow loss to Khamzat Chimaev in October, while Blachowicz (29-10-1 MMA, 12-7-1 UFC) is recovering from multiple surgeries in hopes of returning to the octagon this year.
Although the ship has seemingly sailed on the Usman vs. Blachowicz pairing, perhaps it’s not totally off the table. During a recent episode of his “Pound 4 Pound” podcast with co-host Henry Cejudo, former longtime UFC champ Usman explained why he felt so confident in calling out Blachowicz (via X):
Kamaru Usman recalls his face off with Jan Blachowicz, and still believes the matchup favoured him 👀
“You see my arms next to his?… Everybody was talking about ‘he’s a lightheavyweight’ but I was out there thick on him…
I’m telling you… I wouldn’t have called for 205 [lbs]… pic.twitter.com/dHgH9XvPcd
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) May 23, 2024
“I wouldn’t have called for 205 if I didn’t think at that point that the style favoured me and I could do it,” Usman said. “Everybody’s got power when the fight starts, but you grab their leg and you drag him down, the fight completely changes. And that’s exactly what I was gonna do. Glover Teixeira did the exact same thing (to Blachowicz).”
Never afraid of a challenge, Blachowicz took to social media and Saturday and let Usman know that if he’s still interested, the door is open for them to fight (via X):
If you still feel the same about it @USMAN84kg, let’s go. I will be ready. https://t.co/hiYf2MvhtK
— Jan Blachowicz (@JanBlachowicz) May 25, 2024
“If you still feel the same about it let’s go,” Blachowicz wrote. “I will be ready.”
