"Might be easy pickings" - Dan Hardy on why Kamaru Usman should look to challenge Alex Pereira for the middleweight title if he beats Israel Adesanya
Dan Hardy has weighed in on the possibility of Kamaru Usman moving up a weight class.
On multiple occasions, 'The Nigerian Nightmare' has expressed interest in skipping middleweight and moving right up to the light heavyweight division to attain champ-champ status.
However, Hardy doesn't believe that Usman's talk of moving to 205 pounds would become a possibility. 'The Outlaw' would prefer Usman to move up to 185 pounds to challenge Alex Pereira should the Brazilian beat Israel Adesanya in their upcoming counter at UFC 281.
During a recent interview on Submission Radio, Hardy suggested that Pereira could be an easier matchup for the welterweight king than the top fighters at light heavyweight.
"I don't know if I see him making the move up to light heavyweight. I don't know if I see him jumping over middleweight... If Alex Pereira beats Adesanya, that would offer Usman the opportunity to move up and fight and face Alex for the belt. That would be far more likely than him going up and fighting Jiri [Prochazka]... Alex Pereira though, with his possible lack of wrestling, might be easy pickings for Usman at this stage in his career. So, I think that is a possibility. We'll see."
Watch the full interview below:
Kamaru Usman will return to action this weekend
Kamaru Usman will headline the UFC 278 card, which will take place in Salt Lake City, Utah, this Saturday. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' will attempt to successfully defend his welterweight title for the sixth consecutive time, with Leon Edwards representing his latest challenger.
The card will also feature some other exciting matchups, including Luke Rockhold vs. Paulo Costa at middleweight and Jose Also vs. Merab Dvalishvili in the bantamweight division.
The fight between Usman and 'Rocky' will be a rematch as the two previously fought in December 2015. Usman won that encounter via unanimous decision.
Since the loss, Edwards has amassed a 10-fight undefeated streak, which has earned him a shot at UFC gold. Usman himself is on a 19-fight win streak.