Kamaru Usman contemplated jumping up two weight classes to cement his status as MMA’s pound-for-pound best.
Usman (20-1 MMA, 15-0 UFC), the UFC’s reigning and defending welterweight champion, has already notched five title defenses, which has placed him as the promotion’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter, according to the organization’s official rankings.
Having already beaten the likes of Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal twice, Usman has almost cleared out his division’s top contenders. But with his good friend and fellow Nigerian Israel Adesanya sitting on the middleweight throne, Usman says he pondered going up 35 pounds to challenge Jan Blachowicz (28-9 MMA, 11-6 UFC) when he was light heavyweight champion for a chance to become dual-champ.
