Eugene Bareman weighs in on fight potential fight between Israel Adesanya and Kamaru Usman - "Israel and Kamaru are friends"

Israel Adesanya's coach Eugene Baremanshot down the idea of fighting Kamaru Usman.

The Israel Adesanya vs. Kamaru Usman superfight has become one of the most talked-about issues in the UFC. Despite the hype, Usman and Adesanya insist they won't fight each other as they are both from Nigeria.

In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Adesanya's coach Eugene Bareman echoed the pair's stance on the matter. According to Bareman, he wouldn't even want to touch on the subject "out of respect" to Adesanya and Usman's relationship. Moreso, he's not even thinking about it just like 'The Last Stylebender' and 'The Nigerian Nightmare.'

"I don't speak on that because that's called respect. Israel and Kamaru are friends. Respecfully, I'll never talk about them fighting. Israel already said they won't fight. I know a little bit about their relationship [but] like I've said, out of respect, I'm not even gonna even talk about it or contemplate it just in the same way that Kamaru and Israel don't."

Watch Bareman addressing the issue below:

Israel Adesanya is the current UFC welterweight champion. He is set to defend his belt against Robert Whittaker at UFC 271. Kamaru Usman, meanwhile, has become the current pound-for-pound king, having defended his UFC Middleweight title four times.

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Israel Adesanya vs. Kamaru Usman can happen if the price is right

As it stands, it appears that fellow Nigerians Israel Adesanya and Kamaru Usman are never going to fight. However, Usman's manager Ali Abdelaziz claims it's still possible.

In an interview with TMZ, Abdelaziz stressed that Adesanya and Usman are "cool" but they are not the best of friends. Moreover, the Dominance MMA boss insists he knows "how people work" in the business. Hence, he insists Usman and Adesanya will take on each other for the right price.

“Listen, these guys, they’re cool but I don’t think they’re best friends," Abdelaziz said of Usman and Adesanya. "If there is enough money for both of them to fight, they will fight in the parking lot ... I know how people work. This has nothing to do with loyalty, because these guys, it’s not like they’re training partners or brothers. They’re African brothers and that holds a lot of value but at the end of the day, I’m Kamaru Usman’s team all the way ... I think there is enough money for these two guys that [they] would fight. I want to see this fight now ... I think fans want it, I want it. I think these two men need to call each other. Mike Tyson told me this: ‘If they’re real brothers, they should fight for them to make money.’”