SerpApi.Org
"I want him to stay at 185. I think he looked so good against Dricus."
That was one of Chael Sonnen's main takeaways after watching Kamaru Usman fall short by unanimous decision to former UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis in the UFC Fight Night 281 headliner this past Saturday in Oklahoma City. Sonnen not only believes Usman (21-5 MMA, 16-4 UFC) looked good in that bout, despite it being a dominant win for Du Plessis (24-3 MMA, 10-1 UFC), but he also believes Usman impressed while being at a disadvantage.
"Why do I want Kamaru Usman to stay? Because I don't think he's given himself a chance," Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. "When Kamaru Usman used to wrestle, he was a 185 pounder. When Kamaru Usman had Olympic aspirations, it was for 86 kilograms – which translates to 185 pounds. He was never (170 pounds). But once you become a 70-pounder for 10 years, you're now not a middleweight unless you commit to it."
Sonnen believes Usman didn't make the proper physical adjustments to fight at 185 pounds. Usman's pursuit to fight Islam Makhachev for the UFC welterweight belt is what Sonnen believes kept "The Nigerian Nightmare" from bulking up.
"We were arguing that he should be getting the Islam fight," Sonnen said. "This was before the Ian Garry matchup was made, so Kamaru is not even thinking 185. He's thinking 170 because he knows, as well as I do, that he's in the short list of guys to go in at a scratch weight class. My point is he's never grown into this weight. Jon Jones took three years to just gain weight before he went up to (heavyweight)."
Many believe Usman is on borrowed time. He turned 39 in May and has fought just three times in the last three years. He's also 1-4 in his past five outings. Despite his age and career situation, Sonnen believes Usman could have a lot more fight in him should he make a permanent move to middleweight.
"I think it could extend his career," Sonnen said. "The No. 1 reason why athletes retire – judo, boxing, MMA – is the scale. Khabib retired because of the scale. Khabib didn't need to be done fighting; he was done making 155 pounds. Now Kamaru can make 170, I'm sure of it, but if he goes to '85, if he remembers how good he felt on Friday at the weigh-ins, and he goes, 'You know what? That's what I want for the rest of my career. I'd be all for that. I think he's a contender."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Chael Sonnen: If Kamaru Usman commits to 185, 'I think he's a contender'
