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This past weekend at UFC 286, Kamaru Usman suffered a devastating setback when he failed to regain his welterweight title from Leon Edwards.
Kamaru Usman is widely recognized as one of the greatest welterweights of all time, but where he goes – and who he fights - next is difficult to say. Thankfully, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ has no shortage of potential opponents, both at 170 pounds and elsewhere should he choose to switch weight classes.
With that in mind, here are five potential opponents for Kamaru Usman following his loss to Leon Edwards.
#5. Kamaru Usman vs. Stephen Thompson
If Kamaru Usman wants a stylistically good bounce-back match for his return to the octagon, he should probably look no further than Stephen Thompson.
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‘Wonderboy’, a two-time UFC welterweight title challenger, is still ranked in the top 10 at 170 pounds, sitting at No.7.
Despite this, he seems to be on the downswing of his career. Not only is he 40 years old now, but he’s also won just one of his last three fights, stopping Kevin Holland via TKO last December.
‘Wonderboy’ is still a very dangerous fighter in many ways. His unorthodox, karate-based striking can still prove to be difficult to handle for many opponents, and if he gets a foe hurt, he’s more than capable of finishing them.
However, his bouts with Belal Muhammad and Gilbert Burns showed that he’s now struggling to fend off large, powerful grapplers. And at 170 pounds, they don’t get any more large and powerful than Kamaru Usman.
Overall, this bout would represent a slight risk for ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’, but he’d also be expected to win handily.
Given that ‘Wonderboy’ still has some name value and is one of the few top welterweights of recent years that Usman hasn’t already fought, this could be a worthy bout for him.
#4. Kamaru Usman vs. Robert Whittaker
Given that he’s now seemingly out of title contention at 170 pounds for as long as Leon Edwards holds the UFC welterweight title, one viable move for Kamaru Usman could see him head to 185 pounds.
Usman has always been a huge welterweight, and at 6’0” tall, his frame would easily adjust to having some extra muscle added to it.
This would be a fascinating move for ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’, primarily because the top of the middleweight division doesn’t have that many dominant wrestlers. In fact, it’s arguable that outside of Derek Brunson, all of the top 10 at middleweight would be considered strikers.
If Usman were to move to 185 pounds, then, hypothetically at least, he could become an instant title contender. To get a title shot, though, he’d have to knock off a very big name.
With that in mind, the UFC could look to match him with former champion Robert Whittaker. After the scrapping of a proposed bout with Paulo Costa, ‘The Reaper’ remains on the shelf waiting for his next assignment, and so this fight could easily be put together.
Naturally, it’d be a huge risk for Usman. Not only is Whittaker one of the hardest hitters at 185 pounds, but he’s also got stellar takedown defense.
However, if ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ could beat him, it’d be impossible to deny him a title shot, particularly as Whittaker has only lost to Israel Adesanya in recent years.
If Usman wants to make an instant splash at 185 pounds, then ‘The Reaper’ would definitely be the man to knock off.
#3. Kamaru Usman vs. Khamzat Chimaev
While Dana White has already stated that Khamzat Chimaev’s future lies at 185 pounds, for now at least, he remains ranked in the welterweight division’s top five. Therefore, could a fight between ‘Borz’ and Kamaru Usman work?
The answer is a massive yes. Put simply, a fight between Chimaev and Usman would not only pit two of the most physically dominant fighters in the UFC right now against one another, it’d also be huge from a star power perspective.
Chimaev has quickly become one of the UFC’s fastest-rising stars, while Usman’s star power is slightly underrated. He remains one of just a handful of fighters to headline an event that ended up drawing over a million buys on pay-per-view.
In terms of the fight itself, it’d probably be fantastic. Quite how Usman would handle the frenetic pace that Chimaev looks to set would be fascinating to watch. Equally, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ might be the first fighter capable of stopping the Chechnyan’s takedown.
Essentially, if Usman could become the first man to knock off Chimaev, then he’d be right back into title contention. If ‘Borz’ could overcome the former champion, he’d definitely be worthy of a title shot in his own right.
When you add in the fact that this fight could also be made at 185 pounds as well as 17o pounds, it might prove to be very tempting for the UFC indeed.
#2. Kamaru Usman vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov
If we assume that Khamzat Chimaev is definitely moving up to middleweight and Kamaru Usman decides to stay at 170 pounds, then if the UFC want to match him with the welterweight division’s best prospect, only one fighter comes to mind.
That fighter is the unbeaten Shavkat Rakhmonov, who once again impressed hugely in his most recent win.
‘Nomad’ dispatched of Geoff Neal in violent fashion, choking him out in the third round to move up to No.6 in the welterweight rankings.
Rakhmonov has been with the UFC since late 2020. Over that period of time, the native of Kazakhstan has picked up five wins to take his overall record to 17-0.
What makes ‘Nomad’ such a dangerous fighter is his ability to finish his opponents from seemingly any area or position. Of his 17 career wins, eight have come via knockout and nine via submission. Thus far at least, he’s never gone the distance.
Of course, though, Rakhmonov has also never fought an opponent the caliber of Usman. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ would be the best grappler the Kazakh fighter has ever faced by far, and would probably be a betting favourite due to his experience.
'Nomad' is currently linked to a bout with Belal Muhammad, but nothing has been made official, meaning plans to match him with Usman could still work.
Given Rakhmonov’s quickly-rising reputation, this fight would definitely pique the interest of the fans, and it’d be a fascinating one to watch, too.
#1. Kamaru Usman vs. Belal Muhammad
Given that it appears Colby Covington is being handed the next shot at the UFC welterweight title, it’s arguable that the opponent who makes the most sense for Kamaru Usman is Belal Muhammad.
Outside of champion Leon Edwards, Muhammad is undoubtedly on the best run in the division right now. He’s unbeaten in his last nine bouts, dating back to a 2019 defeat to Geoff Neal.
More importantly, he’s been knocking off top-ranked fighters over the past couple of years, including Vicente Luque, Sean Brady and Stephen Thompson.
He even faced Edwards himself in 2021, only for the fight to end in an unfortunate no contest.
Essentially, ‘Remember the Name’ ought to be fighting for the title next, but with Covington’s name value seemingly putting him ahead in the queue, the next best fight for him would undoubtedly be with Usman.
‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ remains the second-best 170lber in the world behind Edwards. So, if Muhammad could find a way to beat him, then it’d be impossible to deny him a title shot.
There’d be less for Usman to gain from this bout, as it’s unlikely he’d receive another shot at ‘Rocky’ if he were to win, but it’d definitely be a fine way for Usman to prove he’s still a real threat.
It’d also be a fascinating clash of styles, as both men fight in a similar way, favoring wrestling and the clinch but also being happy to stand and strike. Quite who would come out on top of the wrestling exchanges would be a major question mark.
Muhammad has already been pegged to fight Shavkat Rakhmonov next, but nothing has been made official, meaning Dana White and company could easily change direction and go this way, instead.
Overall, this fight would be a fantastic one however you look at it, and the UFC ought to pursue it as soon as possible.
