After losing out on the Khamzat Chimaev fight, Kamaru Usman sees Stephen Thompson as a logical next opponent.
Usman (20-3 MMA, 15-2 UFC) went back-and-forth with Chimaev through media interviews, but a fight never materialized. Chimaev was booked against Paulo Costa for a middleweight bout at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi.
Usman looks to rebound from his second-straight title loss to Leon Edwards. “The Nigerian Nightmare” cleared out most of the division during his championship reign, but one notable name he never crossed paths with is a former two-time title challenger, Thompson (17-6-1 MMA, 12-6-1 UFC).
“I’ve done everything there is to do,” Usman recently told TMZ. “The only guy, to be honest, that would even make sense right now is ‘Wonderboy,’ because he needs an opponent. ‘Wonderboy’ has been around so long, and he’s just that name to where it’s always a great fight. His style is very, very difficult to fight. He’s just one of those names, he’s in my era, that I never really got to fight.”
Thompson was scheduled to face Michel Pereira this past Saturday at UFC 291, but the bout was scrapped after Pereira missed weight, and “Wonderboy” opted not to take the fight. As a result, Thompson has yet to receive any compensation.
Usman thinks Thompson did the right thing and shouldn’t get criticism for his decision not to compete.
“I know everyone is crucifying him for not taking that fight,” Usman said. “But why? I don’t understand that. Why? People are like, ‘Oh, he’s a b*tch. He’s scared. He didn’t want to take the fight.’ Why? We signed on a contract, and this man (Pereira) said he was going to make this weight.”He decided not to make that weight, and I told (Thompson), ‘OK, I need you to go back and make the weight.’
“If he’s not going to try, why is that my fault? No, absolutely not my fault. People need to stop that. ‘Wonderboy,’ he did his job. He came in there, he made weight, he trained for the fight. What more could you ask of him?”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 291.
