Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima believes he’d beat UFC 170-pound title holder Kamaru Usman in a cross-promotion bout.
Lima and Usman got MMA fans buzzing by teasing a cross-promotion matchup. Bellator president Scott Coker revealed that he tried making the bout happen but the UFC wasn’t interested. As a result, Lima is now set to take on Gegard Mousasi for the vacant Bellator middleweight title once the COVID-19 crisis clears.
Douglas Lima Thinks He Can Beat Kamaru Usman
Speaking to BJPenn.com, Lima expressed his belief that he can defeat Usman if the two are matched up in the future.
“I mean, to be honest, I don’t think it will ever happen but I hope it does. I just don’t think the UFC wants to do something like that. It’s a big risk for them because if he loses, he loses some of that star power,” Lima said to BJPENN.com. “I’d do it in a heartbeat because I know I’d beat him. It would be exciting. A fight like that should be about fighters not about companies. We are the sport, stuff like that should happen in our sport and it’s unfortunate it doesn’t.”
When asked about a prediction for the fantasy bout, Lima made it clear that he thinks he’d finish Usman.
“KO. I mean, he’s a fantastic fighter, amazing wrestler and good striking. He’s good everywhere but man, I believe I can connect and put him away. I can stuff his takedowns because he wouldn’t want to stand with me,” he concluded. “I believe in my skills, I can put him away, it wouldn’t take much either.”
Usman is coming off a fifth-round TKO victory over Colby Covington back in Dec. 2019. It was Usman’s first successful UFC welterweight title defense. He is expected to take on Jorge Masvidal sometime this year.
