Outside Source
Makhachev dominantly won the welterweight title against Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 this past November. The same card saw the rise of fresh contenders like Carlos Prates, who knocked out Leon Edwards, and Michael Morales, who knocked out Sean Brady. Meanwhile, Ian Garry defeated former champ Belal Muhammad a week later at UFC Qatar.
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However, Makhachev is looking to defend his title against Usman. “The Nigerian Nightmare” defeated Joaquin Buckley in June 2025 to earn his first victory since 2021. However, Makhachev believes Usman still beats new contenders like Prates and Morales. Makhachev’s friend Cormier agrees with him. For those counting out Usman, “DC” reminds them of the former champ’s fight against Khamzat Chimaev. While Chimaev has walked through almost every opponent, Usman moved up a weight class and gave “Borz” one of his toughest tests despite suffering a majority decision loss.
One of the Greats
“Usman is one of the greatest welterweights of all time,” Cormier told Red Corner MMA. “I think also for people that are trying to dismiss Kamaru, because people are trying to dismiss Kamaru as a threat – remember how he fought Khamzat. Khamzat has destroyed just about everybody, and if it was a five-round fight, many felt Kamaru Usman had the opportunity to beat him. That was up a weight class. So while people are trying to write Kamaru off, I wouldn’t be so quick to say that he’s no challenge to Islam because of his wrestling, because of his championship pedigree. I agree with Islam Kamaru Usman is a very difficult matchup for him.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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