‘Shut your mouth’… Kamaru Usman gets fired up after rumored main event narrows down list of potential opponents

Last week, rumors began circulating that former welterweight champion Leon Edwards will face Australia’s Jack Della Maddalena in the main event of UFC London in March.

Given how Leon Edwards and Jack Della Maddalena represent two of the Top 5 ranked welterweights in the world, sitting at No. 1 and No. 4 respectively, this matchup would leave No. 3 ranked Usman in a tricky spot.

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLCA ‘fired up’ Kamaru Usman fires back at UFC welterweights over comebackIt’s been 15 months since the last time we saw Kamaru Usman in the UFC octagon, with fans around the world desperate to see the former pound-for-pound king back in action.

Well, if the rumored UFC London main event between Edwards and Della Maddalena is true, there aren’t too many active welterweights who could be in the mix for The Nigerian Nightmare’s comeback.

Speaking via the Pound-4-Pound Podcast, Usman was almost at boiling point as he slammed fighters like Ian Machado Garry and Joaquin Buckley for their consistent, and for what he believes to be consistently disrespectful callouts.

“This is the thing, as we’re coming into 2025, I just want to make this clear so that everyone understands it; if we don’t fight, we don’t make money. I like money, you like money… If I don’t fight, I don’t make money.

“Everyone goes on like ‘Oh you’re not taking fights’, well I want to fight, but if I’m not healthy then I can’t do that to the best of my ability, [I can’t] give you guys ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ who you’re used to seeing, that you guys want to see in that octagon.

“So, for those of you who keep thinking that I’m not fighting because I’m choosing not to fight, like all these stupid guys, stupid fighters – shut your mouth, no one is scared of any of you!”

Usman might be on a three-fight losing streak, but it’s worth remembering that he still gave Khamzat Chimaev his toughest test to date in the octagon, far tougher than former champ Robert Whittaker – despite being up at middleweight and on short notice.

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“I have been at the top of the division, pound-for-pound, with an iron fist and spanking all of you for a while. Listen, I want to get in there, I want to fight, and I can’t wait to fight so I can whoop one of y’all… So shut your mouth all of you stupid welterweights, shut your mouth, and wait for when I am healthy again.”

If we briefly consider Edwards, JDM, and Shavkat Rakhmonov out of the mix; a comeback fight against Garry, Buckley, or even Sean Brady would make sense as wins over any of those three names would put Usman firmly back in the title picture.

“I’ll fight all of you, I don’t care, just be patient, okay? Thank you… 2025 will be a great year for everybody, alright? All love and peace – relax guys.”

FUTURE: Ian Garry dismisses UFC rankings as he puts himself ahead of Edwards

Cejudo and Usman react to Islam Makhachev’s teasing podcastAside from talking about Usman’s 2025 plans and Henry Cejudo’s upcoming fight against Song Yadong, the podcast hosts also touched on one of this week’s most viral moments.

In an interview with Demetrious Johnson, lightweight champion Islam Makhachev would tease that they needed “permission” from him to name their podcast ‘Pound-4-Pound’.

“Islam, why do me like that?!” laughed Usman in response: “Ey, listen, it is what it is – Islam is pound-for-pound king right now of course, he makes certain decisions about that.”

‘Triple C’ giggled as he jabbed back, “He’s greedy bro, he wants all the pound-for-pound for himself, as he should,” before noting that it’s been fun watching Makhachev’s personality come out more.

“Obviously, he’s got a tough matchup with Arman, but the biggest thing is that Islam has come out of his shell… We all know that Khabib is very charismatic, and it feels like we’re getting more of that now from Islam Makhachev.”

EXPLAINED: Fans theorize that UFC’s latest broadcast cut opens up path to global Netflix dealhttps://x.com/ChampRDS/status/1876686422192857556

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