UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman likes what he is seeing from his 170-pound peers, especially the heat coming from the direction of massive prospect Khamzat Chimaev.
Kamaru Usman knows what it’s like to work his way up to a title shot. Before even sniffing a shot at the world title, Usman had to jump through hoops to even begin fighting ranked opponents. Eventually, he was able to showcase that he is not one to be denied and was able to capture the welterweight championship while still in the prime of his life.
When you contrast Usman’s rise to glory to that of Khamzat Chimaev, who is weeks away from facing the #3-ranked fighter in the division after only three UFC fights, one could imagine how Usman could be off-put by the newcomer or perhaps dismissive. Neither is the case, though, as he seems to fully understand and heed the hype behind the undefeated prospect.
“He’s tough,” Usman said in a recent interview with ESPN. “He brings basically the same thing that I brought when I came in the game. I could take anyone down, hold them down, and do what I need to do. So he’s tough. I see it. I don’t put it past me. I’m not one of those guys whose naïve and says, ‘Oh, I’m not gonna look at that guy because he’s below me.’ No, I see it. He’s tough.
“But that’s good. Everyone’s working their way up to the mountain,” Usman continued. “And when they get up to the mountain, and they have to speak to me, and they have to engage me, I have to be that guy to send them back down.”
Kamaru Usman Gushes With Pride At Chimaev & Welterweights
As a doting father, Kamaru Usman knows what it’s like to be proud of his child. And when he looks at Khamzat Chimaev and other welterweights in the division making leaps to try to make it to the top of that mountain, Usman says that he cannot help but gush like a pleased father.
“So, yeah, I see him. I think (Chimaev’s) tough. He’s playing the cards right,” Usman said. “He’s doing what he needs to do to get to that spot. And it’s great. I’m borderline proud of him for that. I’m proud of all these guys for that. I’m just a proud dad at the top looking at all the kids saying, ‘Great job, guys. I like what you guys are doing.’ So I’m borderline proud of him for that.”
Do you believe we will see a welterweight championship fight between Kamaru Usman and Khamzat Chimaev in 2021?
