"Time to make the jump" - Henry Cejudo urges Kamaru Usman to move up in weight
Former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo has suggested that Kamaru Usman ought to move up in weight. ‘Triple C’ didn’t specifically mention which weight class he’d like to see the UFC welterweight (170lbs) champion Usman to move up to.
That said, over the past several months, Cejudo has often asserted that Usman should move up to the middleweight (185lbs) division. Cejudo has time and again called for ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ to fight reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and capture the middleweight title.
Cejudo, akin to many others, isn't unbeknownst to the fact that Usman and Adesanya are good friends. Regardless, he believes that the welterweight kingpin should fight ‘Izzy’ for the middleweight belt.
Similarly, Dominance MMA founder Ali Abdelaziz – who manages both Cejudo and Usman – has also consistently called for Usman to fight Adesanya for the middleweight title.
Abdelaziz has now posted a tweet asserting that Usman is the best at welterweight and middleweight. Additionally, Abdelaziz insinuated that Usman could be a champion in the heavyweight (265lbs) division as well. Abdelaziz’s tweet reads as follows:
“@USMAN84kg the best 170 lb 185 lb and he can be Champion right now at least heavyweight”
@USMAN84kg the best 170 lb 185 lb and he can be Champion right now at least heavyweight
Kamaru Usman, for his part, has expressed his willingness to potentially pursue the UFC light heavyweight (205lbs) title. He has refused to go after his friend Adesanya’s middleweight belt unless it fetches them a $100 million payday.
Usman hasn’t opened up about a possible move to heavyweight thus far. Meanwhile, Henry Cejudo has responded to Abdelaziz’s aforementioned tweet and advised Usman to move up in weight. Cejudo tweeted:
“Time to make the jump”
Time to make the jump 🇳🇬 🇳🇬🇳🇬 twitter.com/aliabdelaziz00…
Michael Bisping foresees Kamaru Usman facing his toughest test in a long time against Leon Edwards
UFC welterweight kingpin Kamaru Usman is scheduled to defend his belt in a rematch against Leon Edwards at UFC 278 on August 20. Usman defeated Edwards via unanimous decision in their first fight back in December 2015.
Nevertheless, many believe that Edwards is currently one of the few welterweights who pose a legitimate threat to Usman’s dominant title reign.
In a recent live Q&A session on his YouTube channel, former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping addressed the Usman-Edwards rematch. ‘The Count’ opined that ‘Rocky’ will likely give Kamaru Usman the toughest fight he’s had in a long time.
“I mean, Usman is the pound-for-pound number one, but Leon Edwards is probably going to give him the toughest fight he's had in a very long time. Of course, I am rooting for Leon as a fellow Brit, and I think he's got a really, really good chance. It is not going to be easy.”
Watch Bisping’s assessment in the video below: