5 fights for Kamaru Usman at 205 lbs

Kamaru Usman made headlines recently when he revealed that he had at one point considered a move up to 205 lbs to take on Jan Blachowicz, who was the champion at the time.

While jumping up two weight divisions would be an incredibly tough task, if anyone is capable of it, it might be the current number one pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC.

We have seen fighters successfully move up one weight class in the past, but jumping up two divisions would be a first. Usman stated he was considering this as he would not fight middleweight champion Israel Adesanya due to their friendship.

Kamaru Usman is too heavy to cut down to 155 lbs and with him taking a move to 185 lbs off the table, perhaps we could see the welterweight champion compete at 205 lbs one day.

Here are five fights for Kamaru Umsan at 205 lbs:

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#5. Kamaru Usman vs. Thiago Santos

Thiago Santos holds a record of 22-9

Thiago Santos came agonizingly close to winning the light heavyweight title when he lost to Jon Jones via split decision at UFC 239. Since then, however, he has suffered somewhat of a downturn in form. While he won his last fight against Johnny Walker, he hasn't produced a particularly strong performance for a while.

Nevertheless, he remains a highly-ranked contender and his past results mean he is still one of the big names at 205 lbs. This would make him a big scalp for Usman if he could pull it off and given his recent form, perhaps he would have a chance.

Santos has relied on his knockout ability but his power shots have not landed in recent times. If Usman can avoid those shots, he might be able to grow into the fight and either out-point him or attempt to out-wrestle him, which has been a bit of a weakness for Santos recently.

#4. Kamaru Usman vs. Aleksandar Rakic

Aleksandar Rakic holds a record of 14-2

In the welterweight division, Kamaru Usman typically uses his wrestling offensively. Against a talented light heavyweight wrestler like Aleksandar Rakic, however, his defensive wrestling could be the key to victory.

Rakic has looked great on his UFC run this far but in his big fights he has been rather dependent on taking and holding down his opponents. Some might've said the same to Usman at one point but he now possesses greatly improved striking.

If Usman can stay on his feet against Rakic using his defensive wrestling, perhaps he will find that he has a striking advantage in the feat. While no man has been able to knock Rakic out, out-pointing him could be a possibility.

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#3. Kamaru Usman vs. Anthony Smith

Anthony Smith holds a record of 36-16

Anthony Smith has looked exceptional on his current three-fight winning streak. He has produced three finishes in as many fights and has cemented himself as one of the best in the world at 205 lbs. A clash between him and the best in the world at 170 lbs would be incredibly interesting to see.

A win would show that Usman can very much hang with the best of them at light heavyweight but doing so would be no small task. While Smith is very good in all aspects of his game, his losses to Glover Teixeira and Aleksandar Rakic suggest he may be susceptible to an opponent with a smothering wrestling technique.

While it's obviously unlikely that Usman would be able to dominate the much larger Smith in this manner, his elite wrestling could well make things interesting.

#2. Kamaru Usman vs. Glover Teixeira

Glover Teixeira holds a record of 33-7

Glover Teixeira's dream of becoming light heavyweight champion was finally realized at UFC 267 when he defeated Jan Blachowicz to win the title. While he may be 42 years old, the champion appears to be at the top of his game and has proved as much, winning his last six fights.

If Usman were to jump all the way up to 205 lbs, he would almost certainly only do so to fight for the title. That means a fight between Usman and Teixeira is currently the most likely of any of the fights on this list. To have any chance, Usman would have to avoid being taken and held down by the grappling skills of Teixeira.

However, Usman might be able to do this given his own great wrestling skills and the significant speed advantage he would have over Teixeira. If he were able to use his speed and evade Teixeira, he might be able to tire out the veteran, who lost the only fight of his that went the full 25 minutes.

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#1. Kamaru Usman vs. Jan Blachowicz

Jan Blachowicz holds a record of 28-9

Jan Blachowicz was the name Kamaru Usman mentioned when he stated his interest in fighting at 205 lbs. While the fight is now unlikely to happen in the wake of the Pole losing the light heavyweight title, it may very well be one of the more favorable matchups for 'The Nigerian Nightmare' at 205 lbs.

While Blachowicz has been on a very impressive run of form, his one-sided loss last time out would create some intrigue here. Blachowicz was taken down very easily by Teixeira and while Usman is much smaller, given how good a wrestler he is, you wonder if he might have similar success.

On top of this, Blachowicz's fight with Israel Adesanya might also give Usman some hope. While Blachowicz won that one, proving he can deal with a smaller opponent, he didn't have it all his own way. When you consider Usman is likely much harder to take down than Adesanya, he just might find some success.

While it would be an incredibly tall ask for Usman to beat any of the men on this list, he is the number one pound-for-pound fighter for a reason. The combination of excellent wrestling, improved striking, speed and stamina he possesses would make for some very interesting bouts at 205 lbs.