Morning Report: Robert Whittaker wants Kamaru Usman to 'stick around' at middleweight for potential fight

10/25/2023 07:00 AM

Kamaru Usman has some decisions to make regarding his fighting future.

With UFC 294 in the rear-view mirror, two of the sport's all-time greats in their respective divisions of middleweight and featherweight, Usman and the current champion Alexander Volkanovski, entered the event on short notice with hopes of shocking the world. Unfortunately for both, they fell short in their bouts opposite Khamzat Chimaev and Islam Makhachev.

Usman and Volkanovski were understandably left in emotional states post-fight. The former welterweight king finds himself in a tough position, having lost three straight bouts for the first time in his illustrious 24-fight career (20-4). Before fighting Chimaev, Usman expressed he would be open to having more than just one fight at middleweight but still wanted to return to his primary home of 170 pounds. Watching the bout closely this past Saturday, former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker implores "The Nigerian Nightmare" to give it at least one more go at 185 pounds.

"Is he gonna stay at middleweight? I don't know," Whittaker said on his MMArcade podcast. "That fight interests me, I like that fight. I'd fight a middleweight Usman. I don't think it's a bad fight to have.

"What're you gonna do? Make Usman fight ranks 30 to 20 to get in the top tier? Consecutive defending welterweight champion, he definitely deserves a fight at the top of the charts. How well he'll do, we will see but seeing fresh blood at the top of the game, that's interesting. I like it. Seeing Chimaev and Strickland fighting, that moves things around, I like it. Makes things interesting and exciting. I am here for it. I hope he (Usman) stays. Stick around. It's fun up here, mate."

Whittaker is in a similar boat to Usman, intending on rebounding in his next time out. "The Reaper" saw his recent title hopes dashed after a tough second-round TKO loss to Dricus Du Plessis in July. Du Plessis appeared in line for the next title shot after the win but a lingering foot injury he entered the bout with prevented him from challenging the then-champion Israel Adesanya only a matter of months later in Sydney, Australia at UFC 293. Therefore, this led to an upset title capture by the unlikely top-five contender Sean Strickland, who dethroned Adesanya via unanimous decision.

Chimaev is now poised to leapfrog South Africa's "DDP" and a patient Adesanya in title contention. The champion Strickland expressed after Chimaev's win how a victory isn't worthy of a title shot and Whittaker can't help but agree.

"Chimaev's gonna be fighting Strickland for the title and whether he deserves it or not, that's another debate," Whittaker said. "He's just saying what we're all thinking, right? (laughs)

"I don't want to take away from Chimaev. He fought an Usman, who's championship-level. Maybe one of the best welterweights to ever do it. He's in that discussion and not only did he beat him, he looked good. He had a lot of control in that first round, it got hairy, he started to slow down but he beat an Usman — Usman's a hard fight. I don't care. He had nothing to lose."

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Situation.Matt Brown praises Kamaru Usman after close loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294: 'If he had 6 weeks, he wins that fight'

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Sergei Pavlovich (18-1) vs. Tom Aspinall (13-3); UFC 295, Nov. 11

Emi Fujino (28-14, 1 NC) vs. Megumi Sugimoto (10-3-1); Shooto 2023 Vol. 7, Nov. 19

FINAL THOUGHTS

It's crazy that at one point Whittaker vs. Usman would have been an elite-level champion vs. champion matchup. They're still elite, of course, but now we have the possibility of it as a top middleweight contender bout. That's just so MMA, isn't it? I'd love to see it regardless.

Thanks for reading!

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