3 UFC champions who could aim for champ-champ status in 2021
The UFC has had four champions who've held belts simultaneously in two different divisions.
Conor McGregor was the first man to achieve the feat, with Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Henry Cejudo soon following suit. Nunes has managed to defend both her titles and still holds on to them, making her the only champ-champ in the UFC right now.
Holding two belts at the same time is something all fighters covet dearly, as it contributes majorly to their legacy. Here are three UFC champions who could aim for champ-champ status in 2021.
#3 UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko
UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko has all but cleared out the division, with wins over Jessica Andrade, Jennifer Maia, Katlyn Chookagian, Liz Carmouche, Jessica Eye and Joanna Jedrzejczyk over the last three years.
Shevchenko is fast running out of opponents at flyweight, especially after her dominant win over Andrade at UFC 261. She is clearly a cut above the rest, as is UFC bantamweight and featherweight champion Amanda Nunes.
The pair have met twice before, with Nunes claiming a decision victory on both occasions. The second fight was highly controversial, with many fans and fighters feeling 'Bullet' did enough to avenge her loss in the first encounter.
It seems inevitable that Nunes and Shevchenko will meet again in the Octagon, and should the Brazilian get past Julianna Pena with ease in August, she could set up a winter date with the flyweight champ.
Shevchenko will be at a significant size disadvantage. But given her skill and current winning run, she could exact revenge over Nunes and become a UFC champ-champ.
Speaking about a potential trilogy fight with 'The Lioness', Shevchenko said she is open to the idea when the time is right and insisted that she believes it will happen.
#2 UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya
Israel Adesanya is the only fighter on this list to have already taken a shot at achieving champ-champ status in the UFC. 'The Last Stylebender' moved up to light heavyweight to challenge Jan Blachowicz earlier this year, but suffered the first loss of his professional career after being outwrestled by the Pole.
Adesanya has been vocal about his desire to have another crack at the cherry. If he beats Marvin Vettori in June, that will give him enough time to bulk up more effectively than he did last time and fight for the light heavyweight title late in the year.
Adesanya doesn't have much left to prove at middleweight, with wins over four of the five highest-ranked fighters in the division. He showed that he can hang with the light heavyweights even though he suffered a loss, and with some improved wrestling, he could finally achieve his UFC champ-champ dream.
#1 UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman
Kamaru Usman is arguably already a top-three welterweight of all time. Like Adesanya, he has wins over almost all of the division's elite, and by his own words, he's 'lapping' the other contenders by fighting them again.
In the recent past, Usman has opened up about a potential move up to middleweight. While he doesn't want to move up while Adesanya is the champion, he is willing to take on someone else in the title fight. And if Marvin Vettori triumphs next month, we could see 'The Nigerian Nightmare' contend for the UFC middleweight strap.
Speaking about the same, Usman recently said:
"With the whole Marvin and Israel situation, I don’t necessarily want to think about that. I’m 100 percent behind Izzy and I think he can pull it out. I love Marin as well but I think Izzy can that one out. He’s done it before and I think he can and I think he will. But if there was a case to where I would actually go up and challenge for that belt it would be without Izzy being in the picture. So if Izzy is not champ, then it’s something I could take a look at."
Usman wouldn't be out of place at middleweight, being a hulking welterweight who weighs far more than the 170-pound limit on fight night. Given how active he is, we could see him become a champ-champ by the time the new year rolls around.
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