‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ has got plans in mind for the 12 months ahead.
Islam Makhachev’s team are still pushing for Kamaru Usman to be his first welterweight title challenger.
While the previous champion’s accomplishments speak for themselves, many have argued the case that there are more deserving contenders.
Some imagine that Ian Machado Garry is next for Makhachev based on a social media post that seemingly made reference to a few of his previous comments.
This might find yourself having a large impact on Usman’s goals for 2026, which go much further than reclaiming the 170 pound gold.
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Kamaru Usman desires to look back on 2026 after retiring with two title wins
Islam Makhachev and Kamaru Usman faced off earlier this 12 months to potentially arrange a welterweight title fight between two modern legends of the game.
‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ could have snapped a three-fight skid last 12 months but seeing him reclaim the 170-pound gold at this stage in his profession could be stunning.
In a recent interview with UFC op Eurosport, Usman was asked how he hopes to have the option to reflect on 2026 in the long run, which he said could possibly be the ultimate 12 months of his profession if it goes to plan.
“2026, we wish to say, ‘Wow, I can’t imagine you truly pulled that off and went and never only took one title but you took two and walked away.’”
The 38-year-old added that his first goal is the welterweight title, saying that he doesn’t think he’ll have the option to challenge for the middleweight belt until he achieves this goal.
Usman was narrowly beaten by Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 after taking the fight on short notice.
He believes that he’ll have a case for the rematch if he’s in a position to move as much as face the 185 pound titleholder after beating Makhachev.
“I believe if I get that title, I believe a whole lot of people desired to see that rematch with Khamzat on a full camp,” he said.
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Kamaru Usman has already identified one thing that might prevent this dream scenario
Getting a welterweight title shot and beating Islam Makhachev would already make Kamaru Usman’s 2026 a remarkable 12 months for the previous champion.
His hopes of becoming a two-division champion are helped by the proven fact that some imagine he beat the present middleweight titleholder, Khamzat Chimaev, after they fought in 2023.
Nevertheless, there’s no guarantee that even when Usman is in a position to win back his welterweight belt that he’ll get this chance to immediately move up.
Usman himself has said that Chimaev won’t have long left at middleweight, as he’s repeatedly spoken about wanting to go to light heavyweight within the near future.