Overview
- Ali Abdelaziz told MMAJunkie that Kamaru Usman is not going to retire and that he still has more to give as a fighter.
- Abdelaziz said he prefers Usman to drop back to the 170-pound welterweight division where there are more suitable opponents and legacy matchups.
- Usman lost a clear five-round decision to Dricus Du Plessis in July after moving up to middleweight, a result cited by his camp as reason to reconsider that weight move.
- Usman disclosed he fought that July bout carrying a torn pectoral, an injury his camp says affected his performance and factors into his near-term choices.
- Unconfirmed reports say there are early talks about a possible boxing crossover with Chris Eubank Jr. in Nigeria, but Abdelaziz’s comments make an MMA return at welterweight the stated priority.