- Ali Abdelaziz thinks the UFC should’ve put Kamaru Usman at No. 2 in the pound-for-pound rankings
- The Dominance MMA boss is just moving on from it
The entire MMA world was shocked when Kamaru Usman lost his welterweight title to Leon Edwards at UFC 278. However, nobody was more shocked than Usman’s manager and Dominance MMA boss Ali Abdelaziz, who also couldn’t comprehend why “The Nigerian Nightmare” drastically dropped from No. 1 to No. 4 in the pound-for-pound rankings.
They must have been drunk
Speaking to MMA Underground, Abdelaziz said the UFC made a terrible mistake in demoting Usman to No. 4 in the updated pound-for-pound rankings. He argued that his client has had so many title defenses to be at least at No. 2 and ahead of new lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
“One of the things I don’t say is that how Kamaru Usman became the four or fifth pound-for-pound fighter?,” Abdelaziz questioned. “How? It’s crazy. I think Kamaru should be No.2, even ahead of Islam (Makhachev) to be honest with you. The man lost a second in the whole fight outside the first round. He was dominant. They’re in syrup, or tequila, or something? They’re drunk because Kamaru Usman is the greatest fighter in the UFC today…He has so many defenses, he has so many great fights, but it is what it is.”
Moving on
Despite being disappointed with how the UFC ranked Usman, Abdelaziz concluded that he must just get it over with and carry one, adding. “I just gotta get this off my chest.”
On the other hand, Usman has already been moving on from his defeat. The former welterweight champion and pound-for-pound king was recently spotted doing some gun firing alongside Henry Cejudo and Justin Gaethje at Ramzan Kadyrov’s special facility in Chechnya.
Usman defended his welterweight belt five times. He beat Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal twice apiece and finished Gilbert Burns in their lone title fight in 2021.
Makhachev, meanwhile, hasn’t defended his title yet after dethroning Charles Oliveira at UFC 280. He is set to take on reigning featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284 on Feb. 11.
Should Islam become a double champion next year, maybe Abdelaziz finally agrees with the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings.
