Jake’s Takes – the career of Kamaru Usman could be over soon

Since his title win in 2019, Kamaru Usman has climbed his way to the UFC’s top pound-for-pound spot. The legacy of ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ is already set in stone, but he is still defending his welterweight title. Could the end be nigh for Usman?

This is my two cents on it all – this is Jake’s Takes!

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For the years during his ascent, Nigeria’s Kamaru Usman was dubbed the dark horse of the welterweight division. After his TUF win, Usman put a six-fight win-streak together but was not rising the ranks as others would. The wins may have come against a lower level of competition that wanted, the performances showed that Usman was absolutely a force to be reckoned with.

Usman’s breakout performance came against Demian Maia over the course of five rounds, in Santiago, Chile. Fans critized the slow pace of the bout, but it proved that Nigeria’s finest could control the fight against the best in the world. Another impressive showing against former champion Rafael dos Anjos cemented Usman’s status as a title threat.

The title opportunity finally came for Usman in early 2019. Champion Tyron Woodley was riding three successful title defenses coming into the bout, including a recent finish over Darren Till. The hype meant nothing to Usman, who dominated and battered Woodley for five rounds, en route to a 50-44 decision. To the surprise of many, Kamaru Usman had become the new welterweight champion, and had done so in emphatic fashion.

The next three years told the story of Usman’s dominance. A switch in camp saw ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ improve his boxing skills and develop his punching power. Five title defenses later, Usman now sits atop discussions of being the greatest welterweight of all-time. The consensus remains that the distinction of greatest remains with Georges St. Pierre, but if Usman continues his reign, he could overtake the great GSP.

With his next title defense set to be a summer rematch with Leon Edwards, it got me thinking about Usman’s long-term future in MMA. It’s a topic that has seemed to spring up with the masses in the past few months, regarding Usman’s comments on retirement.

The champion understands that his fighting career will not always be viable, and that he will have to hang the gloves up at some point. Speaking to Damon Martin after his KO win over Jorge Masvidal, he said, “Being a realist and I’m honest with myself and I know that I can’t do this forever, and I don’t want to do this forever.”

“I’m just so far ahead of these guys that I’m coming back around and I’m lapping them now,” he continued. “So, talking to some of my mentors, and some of the greatest that have done this, what they’re telling me at some point it’s going to start, that waking up in the morning and going to the gym to put in a day’s work is going to start to get heavier and heavier when nothing really motivates me like that anymore.”

Before his rematch with Colby Covington at UFC 268, Usman had a similar point to make to media asking him about potential future fights. “I’ve been nine weeks now away from my daughter, and FaceTime does help, but it doesn’t do it justice, as far as being there each and every day. So, obviously, I don’t know how much longer I’m willing to do this. They have to make sense for me now.”

To me, those are the words of a man who does have a way out on his mind. Fans of Usman know that he is a family man who is prioritising his external needs right now. The end of Usman’s career could be sooner rather than later, if we are to believe his comments.

What further pushes this idea for me is the recent interactions with Conor McGregor for the champion. Should McGregor pull his trump card out and score himself a 170lb title shot, I don’t think Usman will say no to a payday of that magnitude. By the UFC’s standards, he has earned himself a ‘superfight’. It’s that superfight we speak of that could see Usman bow out of the sport on a high-note.

Despite those callouts from McGregor, Usman has yet to confirm or deny that he is interested in the fight. He is confident that, if the fight does happen, that he will “retire [McGregor]”.

One fight that has been on the champion’s tongue is a boxing match with undisputed super-middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez. Usman and his team are confident that they can bring the fight to the Mexican boxer. The UFC, however, have shut down any possibility of this happening.

“I think that [Usman] serious about it; he shouldn’t be serious about it,” Dana White told Sky Sports. “I don’t like that fight at all. Everything about it is horrible. Usman is not a boxer. Canelo is probably the best guy out there right now. It’s a stupid fight that makes no sense.”

If the callout from Usman is anything more than a media stunt, this is fairly conclusive proof that the champ is looking for challenges outside of the routine contenders in his division. Is it a fair assumption to make that Usman could retire if he doesn’t get a lucrative superfight in the near future?

Of course, there are still other challenges at 170lbs that are looking to earn their chances at gold. Vicente Luque and Belal Muhammad are set to throw down in a title eliminator, and Khamzat Chimaev has enough fan support to get a title shot with another win. For fans, those matchups may be intruiging but Usman isn’t overly-eager to fight those challengers until they make a solid case. As mentioned in his earlier quote, Usman is taking fights that “make sense for [him].”

Still, before any of that can hypothetically happen, Usman has to get through the challenge that is Leon Edwards. Even if retirement is on his mind, the champ has made it clear to the media that he is taking this fight very seriously. “If Leon wants the smoke in July, I’ll put him to sleep too.”

If everything goes according to plan, this year could be the year that ‘The Nigerian Nightmare‘ leaves his historic legacy behind.