Kamaru Usman is confident he’s the only welterweight contender who can truly challenge UFC champion Islam Makhachev.
Makhachev (28-1 MMA, 17-1 UFC) claimed the welterweight title with a dominant performance over Jack Della Maddalena this past Saturday at UFC 322 in New York. Post-fight, Makhachev said he sees Usman beating top contenders Carlos Prates and Michael Morales, who both picked up big knockout wins on the same night.
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Usman (21-4 MMA, 16-3 UFC) agrees with Makhachev, even though he knows he’s in for a stern test.
“I say it’s the most competitive because when I look at a guy like Islam, I don’t really see holes like that, and that’s something that scares me, that causes that heartbeat to go up, and that’s when you see some of the most spectacular performances,” Usman said on his “Pound 4 Pound” podcast with Henry Cejudo.
“The last time I felt that was Colby Covington (first fight). That’s when I was like you’ve got a guy who can wrestle as good as you, a guy who could grapple just as good, a guy that can strike just as well. You have a guy that’s good at all these things. How do you get that victory?”
Usman explained how Prates and Morales need to be further be tested before challenging a well rounded champion like Makhachev.
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“You almost feel like if there are guys like myself and Islam in the division, you almost feel like if Prates was the champion, what happened to JDM is bound to happen, someone could do that to them,” Usman said. “With Prates, you want to see those answers and the same with Morales.
“You’ve only seen him on his feet. He’s a big, strong guy, no one’s really got a hold of him, dragged him down, pulled on him, pushed on him, let him get and breathe. No one’s really done that to him. So, I would like to see one or two more from them.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Why Islam Makhachev matchup ‘scares’ Kamaru Usman
