Kamaru Usman’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, thinks Nate Diaz should get the nod to fight for the title next.
Abdelaziz, who manages fighters such as Justin Gaethje and Cody Garbrandt, is known to make a few controversial comments every now and then.
In a recent interview with TMZ, Abdelaziz was back to his old ways as he suggested Usman had essentially crushed everyone, therefore his next fight was to be against a Coke bottle.
“It’s gonna be Kamaru Usman vs. Coca-Cola bottle,” said Abdelaziz. “It doesn’t matter, Kamaru can fight a can, a Monster can, a Coca-Cola bottle. It doesn’t matter because he smashed everybody, you know. He violated everybody. Nobody deserves nothing, you know.”
Usman has been as dominant as ever since becoming the UFC welterweight champion in 2019, defending his title against Colby Covington, Jorge Masvidal twice and Gilbert Burns. Some fans believe he is the best pound-for-pound fighter right now because of how dominant he has been. His only loss was in his second professional fight outside of the UFC back in 2013.
Abdelaziz went on to suggest that Diaz could fight Usman due to the popularity he brings to the fight equating to more PPV buys, which could not be said for Covington according to the Dominance MMA manager.
“Why not Nate Diaz?” said Abdelaziz. “Right? At least Nate brings something to the table. But Colby (Covington), the only thing Colby brings to the table is a broken jaw. Humiliating.”
The “jaw” comment was a reference to the time Usman defeated Covington back in December 2019 at UFC 245 which left the American fighter with not just a loss but a broken jaw too after Usman landed a clean right straight.
To suggest Diaz as the next welterweight title challenger may be questionable to some considering Diaz has not recorded a win since 2019 and is currently on a two-fight losing streak. Diaz’s last fight was at UFC 263 in June when he was dominated by #3-welterweight contender Leon Edwards.
However, regardless of the losses, one thing that is hard to deny is the fact that Diaz is a fan-favorite and a superstar of the sport, which in turn, brings more eyeballs to any event he participates in.
Abdelaziz responded to naysayers who believe Diaz is not deserving of the shot, referencing back to how Masvidal did not deserve the rematch against Usman but got the shot because of what he brought to the table.
“Hey, (Jorge) Masvidal didn’t deserve it too,” said Abdelaziz. “But Masvidal, he brought something to the table. He brought entertainment. He brought excitement, you know. People believed Masvidal was one of the baddest dudes on the planet, right? But in reality he was not. He got beat at his own game, knocked out cold. Slept. He was slept. And this is fact. No disrespect to nobody. He still went out there, put on the show for the fans. Talked the talk. But guess what? Only one king walked the walk, and Kamaru Usman is the king this night.”
Do you believe that Nate Diaz will fight welterweight champion Kamaru Usman next?
