"You crazy, man" - Stephen Thompson suggests Kamaru Usman can't succeed at light heavyweight, calls for him to face Israel Adesanya at middleweight
Stephen Thompson has suggested that UFC welterweight (170-pound) champion Kamaru Usman is unlikely to succeed at light heavyweight. Usman recently revealed that he’d been planning to skip over the middleweight (185-pound) division and compete in a super-fight for the UFC light heavyweight (205-pound) title.
‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ is interested in becoming a two-weight UFC champion. However, he has refused to go after the UFC middleweight title, since it’s currently held by his friend Israel Adesanya.
In an edition of his ‘What's Up Everybody?!’ podcast, UFC welterweight star Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson and his brother Tony discussed Usman’s light heavyweight title aspirations. ‘Wonderboy’ stated:
“Usman was talking about skipping over ‘Izzy’ and going up to 205 [pounds] and fight somebody. I’m like, ‘Bro. Come on.’”
‘Wonderboy’ and his brother recalled that Kamaru Usman also pursued a boxing match against boxing's top superstar, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. They concurred that this wouldn’t work out well for Usman.
Additionally, the Thompson brothers indicated that Usman would likely lose to light heavyweight fighters such as former UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz and current light heavyweight kingpin Glover Teixeira. Addressing Usman’s claims that he could fight at light heavyweight, Stephen Thompson said:
“You crazy, man… That’s wild. I don’t see that at all, man.” Thompson then proposed an Usman-Adesanya matchup and noted, “I mean, if those two [Usman and Adesanya] – I know they’re buddies – but, I mean, why not go up there and fight [Robert] Whittaker. What’s the worst thing to happen? You get knocked out. I mean, not Whittaker, ‘Izzy.’”
Furthermore, Thompson opined that an Usman-Adesanya matchup would fetch both fighters massive paydays. He added that Usman and ‘Izzy’ could still be friends after the fight.
Watch ‘Wonderboy’ discuss Kamaru Usman’s light heavyweight plans, and more, in the video below:
Israel Adesanya believes Kamaru Usman is the greatest welterweight of all time
Ahead of his rematch against Robert Whittaker at UFC 271, Israel Adesanya spoke to Yahoo! Sports and labeled Kamaru Usman the greatest MMA welterweight ever. ‘The Last Stylebender’ said:
“His reign [Usman], he is the greatest welterweight of all time. He is. I take inspiration from that, and for me, Francis [Ngannou] has newfound wrestling, Kamaru has got this newfound KO power, and yeah, stay tuned, you might see some surprises this weekend if it presents itself.”
Adesanya defeated Whittaker via unanimous decision at UFC 271. He hinted at defending his middleweight belt against Jared Cannonier next in June. Meanwhile, Usman – who recently underwent hand surgery – is likely to defend his welterweight title in a rematch against Leon Edwards at UFC 276 on July 2nd.
Kamaru Usman had surgery to repair a ligament in his hand, his manager Ali Abdelaziz told @marc_raimondi.
Abdelaziz said Usman is targeting a return for International Fight Week at UFC 276 in T-Mobile Arena on July 2. https://t.co/MQqd9srmJf