Former UFC welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman, will return from the sidelines to battle red-hot knockout artist Joaquin Buckley in the UFC Atlanta main event this weekend on ESPN. The winner could find themselves atop a very short list of eligible title contenders, who are all anxiously awaiting the outcome of Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Makhachev.
Makhachev vacated the lightweight title to challenge for welterweight gold.
“There’s a reason this is the marquee division in the sport — almost in all sports, around this weight class, lightweight to welterweight,” Usman told Kevin Iole. “It’s the marquee weight class for excitement. I love it. I love Islam coming up. At one point I would have been a little annoyed with it, but I’m older and I’m wiser now. At the same time, I love Islam, I really care for him. If this is the decision he wanted to make and chose to make, then I’m all for it. As it pertains to me as a fighter, I love it. I believe he’s next to challenge for that title. As a champion going up, you should absolutely get that opportunity, if you’re willing to vacate the belt like he did. I love it.”
In his absence, Ilia Topuria — who vacated his own title — will challenge former 155-pound kingpin Charles Oliveira for the lightweight strap in the UFC 317 headliner later this month in Las Vegas. As for Makhachev, defeating Della Maddalena could open the door for a potential “blockbuster” against Usman at some point down the line.
Assuming “The Nigerian Nightmare” defies the odds and gets past Buckley.
“I think him and Jack, I think that’s a fantastic fight,” Usman continued. “I don’t count Jack out — Jack is very a formidable opponent. I said that even before his last fight. I said this is a guy, if you sleep on him, he will ruin your day. He ruined Belal’s year. JDM is definitely no easy out for anybody. So, it’s not just a shoo-in, Islam is gonna come in and get that belt. I do think Islam has the ability to do it, but it’s not going to be easy. Fast forward, I mean current pound-for-pound versus former pound-for-pound, I think that’s a blockbuster. That would be a great outing to go out there and get another blockbuster before I sail off.”
To see who else is fighting at UFC Atlanta this weekend in “The Peach State” click here.
