Kamaru Usman lays out “pretty simple” path to superfight with Dricus Du Plessis for middleweight title

Kamaru Usman believes there is a path for him to fight for the middleweight belt, but it all starts by defeating Joaquin Buckley at UFC Atlanta.

Usman is set to fight for the first time since October of 2023, when he dropped a decision to Khamzat Chimaev. Ahead of his return against Buckley, Usman has his eyes set on reclaiming his welterweight title. But, he also has his eyes set on a superfight with Dricus Du Plessis.

“My path there is pretty simple. I’ll just lay out the map here. I’ll finish Buckley this weekend and then wait for the winner of, I believe, Islam and JDM, which is going to be an incredible fight,” Usman said at UFC Atlanta media day. “It’s such a great thing now having Islam come up into the division. Who wouldn’t buy a ticket to that? Former pound-for-pound and current pound-for-pound. I love Islam. Islam is a great fighter. I think that’s something that we’d both remember forever.

Kamaru Usman wants the middleweight belt

“Win and then go ahead and probably vacate, go up,” Usman continued. ‘Myself vs. Dricus Du Plessis, if he is the champion, or Khamzat Chimaev, too, if Dricus is no longer the champion, we do that. If Dricus is the champion, we do that in the first card in Africa. That’s another blockbuster. These are back-to-back blockbuster fights you tell your grandkids about. Who wouldn’t watch those?”

It is a bold path by Kamaru Usman, but he’s confident he will do it, and it all starts by finishing Buckley as the underdog at UFC Atlanta. If Usman does finish Buckley, given his status as a former champ, he could very well be in a No. 1 contender fight or get a title shot.

Usman is 20-4 as a pro and on a three-fight losing streak. He lost to Chimaev last time out at middleweight after back-to-back losses to Leon Edwards to lose his welterweight title.