A clip of Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Ali Abdelaziz from the latest UFC docuseries went viral in the MMA community. The clip showed ‘The Eagle’ matchmaking Kamaru Usman vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov with the UFC CEO. Meanwhile, manager Abdelaziz said the fight would not happen. Now, Usman addressed his side of the story.
Kamaru Usman recently sat down for a conversation with Henry Cejudo on the Pound 4 Pound podcast. Usman talked about Abdelaziz seemingly turning down a Shavkat Rakhmonov fight during their discussion. As such, Usman revealed that he did not care about the incident. Moreover, he was eager to face anyone when he stepped back into the octagon.
There’s nothing to say. When I do get back into the octagon I don’t give a flying frick who it is… I don’t care who it is. When I want to step back into the octagon, and I wanna fight somebody, I don’t give a sh**. I’ll fight who I need to fight.
Kamaru Usman via Pound 4 Pound podcast
Usman pointed out that people must realize that the clip was about a year old from when it was released. After that fight pitch, Usman went to the middleweight division to fight undefeated Khamzat Chimaev on nine days’ notice. He lost that fight at UFC 294 via majority decision, marking his third UFC loss. So the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ pointed out that there was no instance of him avoiding a fight.
Kamaru Usman reacts to the clip of his manager supposedly turning down a fight for him against Shavkat Rakhmonov:
“After that, guess what. I stepped in there on 9 days notice and fought… Khamzat Chimaev. So what you saying?
When I do back into the octagon I don’t give a flying… pic.twitter.com/ft7L6XIg7x
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 13, 2024
A few days after the clip, Usman was seen sparring with Shavkat Rakhmonov. While a fight between the former welterweight champion and the rising undefeated contender would definitely be interesting, Rakhmonov seemingly has other plans. The Kazakh phenom recently declared that he would want to take on the winner of the upcoming welterweight title fight between Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad.
Kamaru Usman states ‘UFC 303 is still on’ hours before Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler gets canceled
There have been ongoing rumors that the UFC was no longer promoting Conor McGregor vs Michael Chandler for UFC 303. Kamaru Usman came in to debunk that, stating that the UFC was promoting the fight. He pointed out that International Fight Week was one of the most important events on the UFC calendar, and McGregor was still being promoted.
Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler are no longer fighting at UFC 303 (via Sports Illustrated)As for Dana White and ‘The Notorious’ being silent amidst all the ongoing confusion, Usman said they are handling what needs to be handled. Moreover, the former welterweight king urged everybody not to generate wild speculations.
All these fans that are reaching all these clickbait all this whatever, stop it. If the fight happens it happens. If the fight doesn’t happen, guess what? It doesn’t happen!
Kamaru Usman via Pound 4 Pound podcast
Hours later, UFC CEO Dana White came out with a video announcing that Conor McGregor will not compete at UFC 303 due to injury. Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka will headline the PPV instead. The fight is for the light heavyweight title as Prochazka looks to avenge his previous loss to ‘Poatan’ at UFC 295.
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