UFC welterweight contender Kamaru Usman made the most out of his opportunity against a top ranked opponent in Chile and dominated Demian Maia for five rounds.
With the win, Usman continues his ascent up the welterweight ladder, and now “The Nigerian Nightmare” says he’s earned his shot at the welterweight belt:
“I think I should fight for the belt next. I just dominated [Maia] better than (UFC champion) Tyron Woodley. Tyron ran from him the whole fight. Tyron threw, what, the fewest strikes in a championship fight ever? And I just went out and I dominated the guy from start to finish.”
Usman denies every single takedown attempt by Maia, and kept the fight under his control for all five rounds. Usman even dropped Maia in the fourth round.
In his own words, Usman says he beat Maia worse than the champion Tyron Woodley did in his last title defense. Usman was having difficulty in getting any of the top welterweights to fight him, and now that he’s beaten Demian Maia, he’s calling for his shot at the title:
“Let’s be honest. Nobody — nobody in my division wants to fight me, because I am the hardest fight for anybody. This fight right here, this a fight that Dana White wanted. He wanted to test me against the most dangerous guy in the division, and that was the most dangerous guy in the division. The champion is easier for me to fight. And you’ve got these other two bums that are fighting for an interim title, those guys are bums, those guys are easier for me to fight. This was the hardest fight in the division.
“I believe Dana really wanted to test me to see if I had all the tools, and I proved it. I’m good everywhere. I can defend the takedowns. I can get a guy down if I want them. I can keep it standing and strike. I can do it all.”
Should Kamaru Usman receive the next title shot after beating Demian Maia on Saturday night?
