Kamaru Usman eyes future light heavyweight title pursuit following UFC 278 headliner

Ahead of his August return in the main event of UFC 278, reigning welterweight titleholder, Kamaru Usman has laid out his intentions to make a move to the promotion’s light heavyweight limit – with the view of landing a second promotional belt.

Usman, the current pound-for-pound #1 under the banner of the UFC, is slated to take headlining status at UFC 278 at the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah – rematching surging contender, the #2 rated challenger, Leon Edwards.

Last time out, Usman, a native of Auchi, managed to hand former interim welterweight titleholder, Colby Covington, a second career loss back in November at Madison Square Garden – scoring a unanimous decision win at UFC 268.

The victory propelled Kill Cliff FC mainstay and ONX Labs trainee, Usman to 20-1 as a professional, and extended his undefeated run in the UFC to 15 consecutive fights.

Teasing a potential move to the light heavyweight limit since the reign of Jiri Prochazka began back in June, Usman maintained that he still intends to skip the middleweight division and challenge for gold at 205lbs.

“We’re gonna go in there and we’re completely focused on Leon Edwards,” Kamaru Usman told TMZ Sports. “But after Leon Edwards, we have our sights set on (light heavyweight), whether it’s Jan (Blachowicz) or whether it’s Jiri (Prochazka), whoever it is, that’s what we want.” 

“I want to prove to the world that there’s a reason why they say pound-for-pound,” Kamaru Usman explained. “That means pound-for-pound at any given time, any given moment, any given weight, I can go in there and not only hold my own, I can be victorious. I wanna be able to prove that.” (Transcribed by Bloody Elbow)

Ross Markey

Senior writer for FightBook MMA. An aspiring mixed martial arts reporter based in Ireland. Producer of news articles, interviews, opinion features, and exclusive features such as, ‘The Fallout’, ‘The Breakdown, and, ‘This Week In MMA’.