Kamaru Usman has some words of warning for Conor McGregor.
“The Nigerian Nightmare” Usman collided with his arch-nemesis Colby Covington last weekend in the main event of UFC 245. The welterweight champion used his striking to chip away at “Chaos” until he finally sealed the deal with a fifth-round knockdown and followup ground strikes, successfully defending his title for the first time.
After delivering this championship performance and extending his win streak to 15, Usman has the whole welterweight division hot on his tail for a title shot. That includes former featherweight and lightweight champion and current welterweight competitor Conor McGregor.
Shortly after UFC 245, “The Notorious” took to Twitter where he cryptically mentioned the weight limits of the featherweight, lightweight and welterweight divisions. The 170-pound class is the only division mentioned that McGregor is yet to conquer — a major hint that he wants to take on Usman.
145. 155. 170.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) December 15, 2019
During an interview with TMZ, Usman told McGregor to be careful what he wishes for.
“He must want to die,” said Usman.
“I mean, what?! He must want to die. This is not ’45, ’55. You saw what Khabib [Nurmagomedov] did to him. Oh my god, it wouldn’t even be fair if I fought Conor. Much respect to Conor for what he’s done for this sport and transcended it. [But] Nah, this is not what you want” Usman continued.
“Just sit down little man, sit down. Learn to walk before you can run because I would hurt that [Conor McGregor] guy.”
Kamaru Usman is represented by Dominance MMA, the same management company responsible for McGregor’s last opponent, Khabib Nurmagomedov. Nurmagomedov is the lightweight champion and successfully defended his title against McGregor when he submitted the Irishman via neck crank in their 2018 fight.
Since then, McGregor has dipped in and out of retirement. He is set to return in 2020 to fight Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. The former lightweight fighters will be stepping up to welterweight for their clash.
If McGregor is successful against Cerrone, do you think he’ll call for a fight with Kamaru Usman?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 12/16/2019.