Getty Kamaru Usman
The UFC’s welterweight king, Kamaru Usman, could beat reigning 205-pound champion Jiri Prochazka, according to Usman’s manager Ali Abdelaziz.
In fact, Abdelaziz claimed that “The Nigerian Nightmare” could also defeat former light heavyweight champions Glover Teixeira and Jan Blachowicz.
Prochazka earned gold this past weekend after submitting Teixeira with a rear-naked choke at UFC 275 in Singapore. Well, apparently Abdelaziz rewatched the fight, and he’s backing his fighter to defeat the much larger men.
“I just rewatched the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, I believe @USMAN84kg will beat Jiri, Jan and Glover,” Abdelaziz tweeted on June 13. “Not talking trash, but this is real.”
I just rewatched the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, I believe @USMAN84kg will beat Jiri, Jan and Glover.
Not talking trash, but this is real
Usman is ranked as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the organization, as per the official UFC standings. The 20-1 professional mixed martial artist has defended the 170-pound strap five times. His next title defense will come at UFC 278 on August 20 against Leon Edwards.
Prochazka Became the Third UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Since Jon Jones Left the Division
Light heavyweight’s longtime ruler Jon Jones vacated the belt in the summer of 2020 in pursuit of heavyweight. Since then, three men have held the undisputed title: Prochazka, Teixeira and Blachowicz.
Blachowicz won the vacant belt later in 2020 by dispatching Dominick Reyes at UFC 253. He notched one successful title defense, beating middleweight champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 259 n March 2021.
At UFC 267 in October 2021, Blachowicz dropped the belt to Teixeira via second-round submission. Unlike Blachowicz, however, Teixeira was unable to extend his title reign.
He lost the 205-pound strap at Prochazka last weekend.
Anthony Smith Thinks Prochazka & Teixeira Had ‘Worst Performances of Their’ Lives at UFC 275
No. 5-ranked UFC light heavyweight Anthony Smith recently slammed Prochazka and Teixeira’s performances in Singapore.
Speaking with Ariel Helwani on Monday’s episode of “The MMA Hour,” Smith said (h/t MMA Fighting):
“To be honest, I think both of those guys had the worst performances of their life at the same time. I really do. For the first time, Glover looked a little old. For the first time in a while, because that’s not the Glover I got. That’s not the one Thiago Santos got. I don’t know who that guy was, but fortunately for him, I think Prochazka had one of the worst performances he could have possibly had too.
“They just made terrible decisions. Like the fight IQ, if you would have put it together, it wouldn’t have been in the double digits during the fight. They both just didn’t fight smart at all.”
Smith then pointed to Teixeira’s defense as being a major problem in the fight, questioning if age has caught up to the 42-year-old Brazilian.
“I think it could be a culmination of a few things,” Smith continued. “It may be could be his age. He didn’t fight like an old man, though. If you really go back and watch it, it was one-way traffic when those guys got to their spots. We all said, ‘If Jiri’s striking and he’s doing what he wants to do, he’s finishing Glover.’ Then we said, ‘If Glover gets him on the ground, he’s probably going to finish him.’ Both guys got to both of their spots several times and it was like a runaway train, they were just beating the s*** out of each other, but for some reason, they just couldn’t cap it off and get that finish.
“Defensively, Glover has been very good in his last three or four fights. He has been clipped a little bit. I think maybe his reaction time has slipped just a tiny bit but he’s rolling with the punches, he’s not taking anything clean. And then he fights Prochazka and he couldn’t get out of the way. It was just the oddest thing.”