{"id":367954,"date":"2026-07-17T23:47:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T18:17:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=367954"},"modified":"2026-07-17T23:47:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T18:17:53","slug":"kamaru-usman-explains-why-he-is-not-apprehensive-about-dricus-du-plessis-size-difference-just-like-the-fans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/07\/17\/kamaru-usman-explains-why-he-is-not-apprehensive-about-dricus-du-plessis-size-difference-just-like-the-fans\/","title":{"rendered":"Kamaru Usman explains why he is not apprehensive about Dricus du Plessis size difference just like the fans"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n
\n
Follow us on Google Discover<\/span> <\/a> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Kamaru Usman believes the character of his next matchup means size won\u2019t be as big of a problem.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Usman has said he didn\u2019t know he was definitely fighting Dricus du Plessis until their fundamental event clash was made official just 4 weeks out.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

Which means that \u2018The Nigerian Nightmare\u2019 had little or no time to specifically prepare for a middleweight bout after previously campaigning for a welterweight title shot.<\/p>\n

Fans highlighted the dimensions difference between Usman and Du Plessis of their first face-off, though the previous 170-pound champion isn\u2019t concerned by this.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/header>\n
\n
\n
\n

Who wins when Dricus du Plessis and Kamaru Usman fight? \ud83d\udc4a<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
\n
\"Dricus<\/div>
Dricus du Plessis vs. Kamaru Usman poster. Credit: Jeff Bottari\/ Zuffa LLC <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n

Kamaru Usman says size can be an even bigger factor if he was fighting one other grappler at UFC Oklahoma City<\/h2>\n

Kamaru Usman held his own against Khamzat Chimaev when taking a middleweight matchup on short notice back in 2023.<\/p>\n

After the best way that Dricus du Plessis lost his title to \u2018Borz\u2019 last trip, many will likely be expecting to see \u2018The Nigerian Nightmare\u2019 lean on his wrestling background on July 18.<\/p>\n

Following fan concern concerning the size difference within the fundamental event, Usman acknowledged that this can be a factor when speaking during fight week on his Pound 4 Pound<\/a> podcast.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the previous welterweight champion believes that being smaller than his opponent can be an even bigger deal if he was coming up against a grappler.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes an even bigger difference if, let\u2019s say, I\u2019m fighting a full-fledged grappler\/wrestler they usually\u2019re an additional 15 kilos heavier than me,\u201d Usman said. \u201cThen absolutely that makes a difference because that\u2019s a man that\u2019s going to come up with you. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s going to wear on you. He\u2019s going to definitely try to tug you down and you might have to take care of that extra 15 kilos on top of you, on you. Yes, that definitely wears you down and drains you quicker but I’m the wrestler\/grappler of all this.\u201d <\/p>\n

While Usman won’t think he\u2019s fighting a grappler, du Plessis\u2019 coach has said they\u2019ll wrestle if their opponent doesn\u2019t with a purpose to prove the purpose that they\u2019ve corrected previous mistakes.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Kamaru<\/div>
Photo by Cooper Neill\/Zuffa LLC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kamaru Usman isn\u2019t sure that he deserves a middleweight title shot with a win at UFC Oklahoma City<\/h2>\n

Considering his history with Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev, a win over a former champion will put Kamaru Usman in an awesome place at middleweight.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Nigerian Nightmare\u2019 said during his podcast on fight week that he\u2019s obviously not going to show down a title shot if he gets offered one following July 18.<\/p>\n

He did, nonetheless, acknowledge that Nassourdine Imavov specifically is a contender that will still deserve his opportunity as a result of the win streak he\u2019s put together.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel that Imavov must have gotten his shot already but I\u2019m the identical way. I must have gotten my shot before I ultimately got my shot to fight for the title once I fought [Tyron] Woodley.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
<\/use><\/svg><\/p>\n
Join Our Newsletter<\/span><\/p>\n

Receive a digest of our greatest Bloody Elbow content each week direct to your mailbox<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Follow us on Google Discover Kamaru Usman believes the character of his next matchup means size won\u2019t be as big of a problem. Usman has said he didn\u2019t know he was definitely fighting Dricus du Plessis until their fundamental event clash was made official just 4 weeks out. Which means that \u2018The Nigerian Nightmare\u2019 had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":367955,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[338],"tags":[5288,12907,2704,815,2735,9017,3929,1377,9018,6300],"class_list":["post-367954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-difference","tag-dricus","tag-explains","tag-fans","tag-hes","tag-kamaru","tag-plessis","tag-size","tag-usman","tag-worried"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t