Kamaru Usman has laid down the challenge to Conor McGregor, offering the Irishman the chance to back up his claims he's the pound-for-pound greatest in three different weight divisions in UFC.
Ali Abdelaziz, the Nigerian Nightmare's manager and an arch-enemy of McGregor's, put the proposal to the Irishman on Monday.
With BMF champion and welterweight No.1 contender Jorge Masvidal seemingly preferring running it back with Nate Diaz as opposed to a title shot, Usman and his team are keen for McGregor to be his next challenger.
Per manager Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00), if Jorge Masvidal were to ask UFC for a Nate Diaz BMF rematch, over a Kamaru Usman title fight, they'd ask the UFC to offer the 170 pound title shot to Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA), for a chance to win his third title. https://t.co/CmCD6PlcKb
- Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) May 25, 2020
It's an opportunity for McGregor to make further history and become the UFC's first three-weight world champion but mere days after declaring himself as the GOAT of MMA in a Twitter thread that riled a lot of people up, he's gone silent according to Usman.
He told ESPN MMA's Brett Okamoto: "This will be history. Like I know a lot of people are trying to s**t on it like Conor doesn't deserve it. Okay, but the next guy they would be deserving of the fight would be Leon Edwards. He can't get into the country. So what?"
"I'm gonna give him the opportunity, if Conor wants, let's do it. But Conor's quiet now. Who says no to a title shot? I've never seen this in history, who says no when the champ says come and get your title shot.
"Unless you know you have no chance in hell of winning. This might change the landscape of your fighting career ever. That's the only chance I can see people saying im'ma pass on that title shot right there."
"Conor's quiet now. Why is Conor quiet? Who says no to a title shot?"@USMAN84kg sees McGregor as a worthy title challenger, but is surprised by his silence (via @bokamotoESPN) pic.twitter.com/6XQpxgK2o5
- ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 26, 2020
Ranked McGregor is 2-1 at 170lbs and made his long-awaited return to the Octagon at welterweight with an emphatic victory over Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone in just 40 seconds at UFC 246.
That performance impressed Usman, who is more than willing to dance with McGregor and see if he really is the the best across three divisions.
"If Conor can make this fight happen, why wouldn't we fight Conor?" Usman said.
"He just fought at 170. He looked great. Like Cowboy Cerrone beat a lot of guys that were ranked at 170. He did very well at 170 and Conor went out there and starched him. Obviously I like Cowboy, and he's my guy. But Conor went out there and got the job done in less than a minute. So how can people sit here and say Conor is not deserving?
"And this is about making history here. He says he's the pound for pound greatest of all time across 3 divisions. This is your chance to prove it, go out there and win a 3rd belt in a 3rd division. So why wouldn't we make that fight."
Topics: Conor Mcgregor, Jorge Masvidal, UFC News, MMA News, welterweight, UFC, MMA, Kamaru Usman
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