Kamaru Usman is making his intentions clear ahead of UFC Oklahoma City: if he gets past Dricus du Plessis, he wants nothing but a UFC title fight next.
Usman meets du Plessis in the 185-pound main event at the Paycom Center, with the card streaming on Paramount+. He says a win on Saturday must lead directly to a championship opportunity, and he already has names in mind.
“Sean Strickland,” Usman said, before expanding on his shortlist. “I mean, that makes sense. That’s pretty easy. It’s either Sean Strickland or Islam [Makhachev], if Islam is still the champion, which I assume he will be.”
Usman explained how he landed in this matchup instead of an immediate shot at Islam Makhachev. “I think it just fit. It just made sense. I obviously wanted the Islam fight. We talked about that and I thought that was what was going to be next, but unfortunately, in these things like this, the company kind of has a say – a big say – in this and they felt this was an opportunity.”
The former UFC welterweight champion, who previously moved up to middleweight in a majority-decision loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294, pushed back on any idea that this path is easier. “I wouldn’t say easier,” he said, while noting the danger posed by names like Jared Cannonier, Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho.
Usman enters Oklahoma City coming off a decision win over Joaquin Buckley in the main event of UFC Atlanta about 13 months ago, while du Plessis returns for the first time since losing the middleweight title to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 this past August.
