Morning Report: Kamaru Usman targets winner of UFC 304 main event: ‘I still got tread left in these tires’

Kamaru Usman plans to remind the world he’s still as good as it gets at welterweight.

The “Nigerian Nightmare” was one of the most dominant champions of the past decade, amassing a reign of five successful title defenses. Unfortunately for Usman, everything came to a halt at UFC 278 in his Leon Edwards rematch two years ago.

“Rocky” successfully defended his title for the first time when he and Usman had their trilogy bout immediately after the sequel. Edwards came out on top once again when he earned the majority decision nod before Usman went on to compete in a short-notice middleweight affair vs. Khamzat Chimaev last October. The divisional debut coincidentally resulted in the same method of defeat for Usman. That has to be a record, right? Back-to-back majority decision losses are unheard of.

Regardless of the three-fight skid, the 37-year-old Usman isn’t planning to retire. He’ll be watching closely when Edwards enters his third defense in another rematch, this time with Belal Muhammad in UFC 304’s main event on Saturday night.

“I’m gonna do what it takes to earn that fight then that fight’s gonna happen,” Usman said of a title shot on Pound 4 Pound. “The boogeyman is on sabbatical, that’s all it is. I still got tread left in these tires, and I’m still gonna show that I am one of the best if not the best in the world.

“I don’t really care if it’s with Leon, I’ve already beat Leon. Been there, done that, I bought the T-shirt and I’ve obviously showed I can beat Leon. There’s a lot of guys in that division right now that are exciting.”

An Edwards vs. Usman tetralogy would be only the second in UFC history behind Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno‘s flyweight rivalry. Obviously, Usman should root for a Muhammad victory if he hopes to have the shortest route back to gold.

Muhammad would be a fresh matchup for Usman and one each has welcomed more and more in the past year. While the former champion doesn’t see a lot of standout elements to “Remember the Name’s” arsenal, he views that as a strength rather than a weakness.

“Nothing is different from Belal Muhammad [since the first Edwards fight]. Nothing,” Usman said. “Nothing jumps off the page where you go, ‘Oh, wow. That is so incredible that thing that he does. Oh, this is exciting. He throws this…’ Nothing. Nothing jumps off that page. But that’s just it. That’s why Belal Muhammad is so good. He’s worked at being this (straight line hand gesture) so well that it’s very hard to shake. That’s what I like about Belal Muhammad in this fight.

“Name one strike that jumps off the page where you’re like, ‘Oh, man. He’s really good at that back wheelhouse kick.’ Tell me one thing.”

Weaponized cardio and volume have always been a big key to success for Muhammad. His overall well-rounded style accompanied by those attributes has drawn some bold comparisons to the likes of the legendary duo of Georges St-Pierre and Khabib Nurmagomedov. The latter of which Usman’s co-host Henry Cejudo mentioned before he argued against it.

“That’s a bad comparison, saying he’s Khabib-esque,” Usman countered. “No, he’s not. Khabib was gonna do what Khabib was gonna do: That is pressure you, take you down and beat your face in. There is literally a fight where Khabib is holding someone’s face with one hand and he’s beatin’ it with the other hand. That’s that. Belal Muhammad’s not that.

“Belal Muhammad is gonna put that pressure on you, that slow pressure, and it’s gonna start to turn into a weight vest. He’s gonna start to turn into someone on your shoulders, a mountain on you. That is something that you see him continuously get better and better at. That’s just what he needs. Belal needs to do him and when he does him, right now, he’s doing it at a very, very high level.”

Muhammad’s style can negate Edwards’ offense over an extended period, believes Usman. So much so that he does see a finish win as a possibility.

Ultimately, a decision win for Muhammad is what Usman leans more towards if we hear “and new.” However, Edwards has proven to be an excellent game planner and built for five rounds since achieving gold, and because of that, his old rival predicts he’ll get the job done once again.

“I think Leon is just starting to settle into the seat,” Usman said. “He shouldn’t be because I ain’t going nowhere yet. I’m just taking a little sabbatical right now. He’s starting to make his groove as champion, and I think he believes he’s the champion here. Leon is working on just staying in there. So, I’m gonna stay with Leon for this one, but I do think Belal could get it done, but I think Leon will pull this one out.”

TOP STORIES
Return. Francis Ngannou reveals PFL debut against Renan Ferreira currently targeted for October

Finally. Association of Boxing Commissions approve rule changes for 12-to-6 elbows, definition for a downed fighter

Speculation. Sean O’Malley doubts Umar Nurmagomedov shows up to face Cory Sandhagen: ‘I’ll be surprised if the fight happens’

Boxing. Tyron Woodley defends Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson: ‘Age is the only reason why Jake Paul even has a chance’

Rivals. Belal Muhammad calls Leon Edwards irrelevant: ‘If he didn’t have this belt, nobody would know who he is’

Competition. Report: Canelo Alvarez to go head-to-head with UFC 306 at Sphere

Business. Jon Anik ‘pretty confident’ Paddy Pimblett re-signs with UFC — maybe before UFC 304

Standards. Julianna Pena: Ronda Rousey didn’t take accountability for losses, retirement from MMA ‘shows her mentality’

Recap. The Ultimate Fighter 32: Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko Episode 8 results

LET’S WATCH
MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck chats with Jon Anik.

Sound & Pound.

Embedded 2.

UFC Connected: CLD.

UFC’s Scariest Division.

Full fights.

The heavyweights meet again.

RIZIN Confessions 156.

Oban Elliott BTS.

Umar’s training camp.

LISTEN UP
Heck of a Morning. MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck discusses if Dana White should call Jake Paul’s bluff after Alex Pereira callout.

MORNING MUSIC

Go to Twitter, use the #MorningReport hashtag, or find one of my tweets with it, and drop me a jam you’re currently really into. I’ll pick the best one alongside my daily choice and give you a shoutout! You can also share in the comments below — those are just harder to sift through sometimes!

SOCIAL SCROLL DOWN
Never ideal.

Customs.

@ufc have confirmed my custom shorts will be grey sweats with a piss stain, cheers lads

— Arnold billy allen (@Arnoldbfa) July 23, 2024

Perspective.

Throwbacks.

Autographs.

Art.

You knew this was coming.

Learning.

Manchester.

Perfect.

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Marcus McGhee (9-1) vs. Aiemann Zhabai (11-2); UFC Vegas 97, Sept. 7

Marina Rodriguez (17-4-2) vs. Iasmin Lucindo (16-5); UFC 307, Oct. 5

Rinat Fakhretdinov (22-1-1) vs. Nursulton Ruziboev (34-9-2); UFC 308, Oct. 26

Patchy Mix (20-1) vs. Leandro Higo (23-6); Bellator Paris, Nov. 16

FINAL THOUGHTS
Probably an optimistic thought for Kamaru at this point. However, at the same time, that feels fair to say with a lot of confidence considering his last three fights and how he actually performed in them. Whoever his next fight comes against will be very telling. I highly doubt it will be the winner of this weekend’s title fight, though.

Thanks for reading!

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