Magomed Ankalaev agrees Kamaru Usman can beat top 3 light heavyweights, but not him
Magomed Ankalaev is convinced that Kamaru Usman is capable of beating Jiri Prochazka, Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira.
Usman's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, recently took to Twitter to claim that his client could beat the top three light heavyweights in the UFC rankings. Ankalaev agreed with Abdelaziz's take but added that Usman can't beat him.
Retweeting Abdelaziz's post, Ankalaev wrote:
"I believe he smash all 3 this old man but not me"
I believe he smash all 3 this old man but not me twitter.com/aliabdelaziz00ā¦
Earlier this year, Usman revealed that he was seriously considering moving up two divisions to challenge then-champion Jan Blachowicz for the light heavyweight title.
Having dominated at welterweight, Usman said he was eyeing a second belt, but wanted to avoid middleweight as he was uninterested in fighting his close friend Israel Adesanya. During an interview with GQ, 'The Nigerian Nightmare' said:
"I was going to skip Israel and go fight Jan at 205 [pounds]. Because Iām pound-for-pound, I want to prove it. No matter what weight it is, I thought he was a really good match-up for me."'
Catch Kamaru Usman's interview with GQ below:
What's next for Kamaru Usman and Magomed Ankalaev?
After months of speculation, the long-awaited rematch between Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards finally got a date set. During the UFC 275 broadcast, it was announced that Usman vs. Edwards 2 will take place in the main event of UFC 278 in August.
Usman and Edwards first crossed paths at UFC on Fox 17 back in December 2015. In their first meeting, Usman defeated the Englishman by unanimous decision after three rounds.
The P4P king has his next opponent set š¤
Kamaru Usman will face Leon Edwards at UFC 278 on August 20. https://t.co/sJSgOQ16NV
Usman has since risen to the top of the welterweight mountaintop and recently cemented his status as the pound-for-pound king of the UFC. However, Edwards has not lost a fight since and is riding a 10-fight unbeaten streak.
Magomed Ankalaev, for his part, is gearing up for an all-important potential title eliminator against veteran Anthony Smith. The Dagestani will be gunning for his ninth straight victory on the main card at UFC 277 in July.
Magomed Ankalaev and Anthony Smith will meet in a high-stakes light heavyweight clash in July. š„
News via @MikeBohn
#UFC277 | Full story: bit.ly/3OUXHvT https://t.co/gYieyvIR3T
Anakalaev is currently the No.4-ranked UFC light heavyweight. A win over Smith could land him a title shot in the foreseeable future.