MMA News: Douglas Lima wants to beat Kamaru Usman to prove he is the best in the world
'The Phenom' Douglas Lima is out there to prove a point. The Brazilian fighter wants to show the world that he is the best welterweight of all time and he knows that he can only cement his legacy once he takes down the best welterweights in the UFC which happens to be the premier mixed martial arts promotion in the world.
Lima wants a cross-promotional super-fight
Having beaten former UFC welterweight Rory MacDonald to capture the Bellator championship title, The Phenom knows that he is a world-beater in his weight class but he wants to drive home the fact by beating fighters sitting at the peak of the welterweight division in the UFC. Speaking to MMA Fighting, Lima talked about the possibility of a co-promotion between Bellator and UFC which would see him take on the best welterweight fighters from UFC.
“I consider myself one of the best. I’ll fight anyone in the division no matter where they are. I believe I’d beat any one of those guys (UFC fighters). I can’t really know if I’m the best or not, because the UFC is out there, and there’s no way we make this fight happen. But I know I’d beat anyone there. All I want is for the UFC to do co-promotions too, but I’m sure it will never happen."
Although Lima thinks that the chances of him getting to fight guys from the UFC are slim, he remains hopeful that President Dana White will budge sometime in the future.
“Many people say you don’t deserve to be considered the best if you don’t fight in the UFC, but that’s something I would like to prove wrong with a super-fight. Who knows. Maybe they’ll change their minds in the future under the new ownership. It’s important to know who’s the best. I can fight there, or they can fight here.”
The Phenom wants to take on the Nigerian Nightmare
Revealing who he wants to face in the cross-promotional match-up, Lima said he wants a crack at the UFC welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman.
“The champion, no doubt. I would choose the one who’s considered the best. Usman is really tough, has good wrestling, so I wouldn’t think twice before choosing him. It would be a big fight. He’s on a roll, (and) he’s breaking everyone, so it would be a good fight for me, even if his style doesn’t favor me. I had problems with wrestlers in the past, and he has good wrestling. But I’m evolving, (and) I’m feeling great. I don’t think too much about it, but it would be great if that happened.”
Lima also shared a piece of his mind on how he thinks the 'super-fight' will pan out.
“A knockout, for sure. I’d go for the knockout. He has knockout power, but he usually wins by decision. I believe we would eventually find that chin.”