Kamaru Usman reveals he considered fighting Jan Blachowicz

Kamaru Usman is the UFC’s No.1-ranked pound-for-pound fighter. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ has revealed that he was more than willing to defend that rank in 2020, and move up in weight.

Usman was willing to move up 35 pounds, in fact. In a recent interview with GQ, Usman revealed that he wanted to move up in weight to fight Jan Blachowicz. The Polish fighter was the UFC’s light-heavyweight champion at the time and had recently defeated Usman’s countryman in Israel Adesanya.

UFC champion Kamaru Usman when a high school coach asked him to give wrestling a shot: https://t.co/mdScJEi7Vs #GQHype pic.twitter.com/PI1sPez0Hd

— GQ Sports (@GQSports) January 26, 2022

“I was going to skip Israel and go fight Jan at 205. Because I’m pound-for-pound, I want to prove it. No matter what weight it is, I thought he was a really good matchup for me… I think I would beat him.” – said Kamaru Usman to GQ.

The proposed Usman vs. Blachowicz fight never came to fruition. The Polish fighter lost his UFC light heavyweight gold to Glover Teixeira at UFC 267. Thus halting any sort of superfight with ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’.

Usman, however, still holds his gold. He defended his UFC welterweight strap a week after Blachowicz lost his title. At UFC 268, he defeated Colby Covington in a highly-anticipated rematch via unanimous decision. The win furthered Usman’s dominance over the division, which was one of the reasons he was contemplating his move up in weight.

Image Credit: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

As of now, Usman’s next fight is rumored to be a rematch against top contender Leon Edwards. ‘Rocky’ previously lost to ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ in December 2015 via unanimous decision. A win here will be the sixth title defense of his UFC welterweight title and continue his dreams of one day acquiring champ-champ status.

However, given that his friend Israel Adesanya holds the middleweight title, and Jan Blachowicz no longer holds the 205lb title, it seems his plans will remain on hold.

Who would you pick in the proposed Kamaru Usman vs. Jan Blachowicz superfight?