UFC 268: Kamaru Usman won’t fight Israel Adesanya – unless it’s for US$50 million each
- UFC welterweight champ says ‘two Nigerians with belts is more important than one Nigerian with two belts’
- ‘Unless Dana [White] wants to give us a hundred million dollars,’ Usman adds – ‘then me and Israel need to have a serious talk’
Kamaru Usman and Israel Adesanya are two of the most dominant champions in the UFC today, but don‘t expect to see the Nigerian-born stars locked in the Octagon together any time soon.
The 34-year-old Usman, the promotion‘s welterweight champion, registered his fifth successful title defence in the main event of Saturday night’s UFC 268 card in New York City, defeating Colby Covington by unanimous decision.
The unanimous decision created renewed clamour for the UFC’s pound-for-pound No 1 to climb up division in a bid to become a two-weight champion.
Yet Usman won‘t be making that move as long as “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya is sitting on the middleweight division’s throne – not unless UFC president Dana White is willing to open his chequebook.
“As long as Israel is the champion there, it‘s not really something that interests me,” Usman told reporters at the UFC 268 post-fight press conference. “Unless Dana wants to give us a hundred million dollars. Then me and Israel need to have a serious talk. Like, ‘hey, we want to do 50 apiece or what?’
