Count Kamaru Usman among those with added interest in the UFC 310 co-main event between unbeaten rising welterweight contenders Shavkat Rakhmonov and Ian Machado Garry.
When Belal Muhammad withdrew from his scheduled UFC 310 title defence against Rakhmonov, Usman was one of the rumoured replacement options the organization had considered before Machado Garry signed on for the five-round title eliminator in the 170-pound division.
“This is an intriguing fight. This was a fight that I was potentially going to slide into,” Usman said on the most recent episode of his Pound 4 Pound podcast.
Before getting into his thoughts on the Rakhmonov vs. Machado Garry matchup, the former welterweight champion sent a message to anyone who had been accusing him of ducking Rakhmonov.
“I’m seeing online people like, ‘Aw, you scared? You ducking? You ducked him. You scared?’ What? … Like, guys, shut up. Shut up.”
Machado Garry wrote "Usman ducked" on a social media post of him announcing he was accepting the short-notice fight against Rakhmonov.
Usman has lost his past three fights after starting his UFC career 15-0 and his most recent contest was a bout he accepted on short notice, up a weight class, in Abu Dhabi against Khamzat Chimaev.
“Shut up,” he added one more time before getting into his analysis of the UFC 310 co-feature.
Usman, 37, described Rakhmonov vs. Machado Garry as “a banging fight” but also mentioned he’s skeptical of it turning into a back-and-forth brawl because the 27-year-old from Ireland has shown to be less aggressive than his 30-year-old opponent from Kazakhstan.
“People are expecting blood and this and that; I don’t think it’s going to be that because Ian Garry is a smart fighter that’s willing to just dance around for 30 minutes,” Usman said. “He’s going to dance around. He’s willing to do that in order to create the space that he wants in order to try to land his strikes. … Shavkat’s going to play the game with you for a little bit, but Shavkat at some point is going to want to get going, so if Ian doesn’t want to get going, we know it takes two to tango.
Rakhmonov is the betting favourite but Usman sounded like he is leaning towards siding with the underdog. However, he neglected to make an official prediction.
“Honestly, putting on my professional hat, I can see a world where Ian Garry gets this one done, but I don’t really care much for both guys, so I don’t really care,” Usman said. “I’m not picking. Whoever it is, at some point I’m going to have to see and I’m going to have to do what I do, but I don’t really care.”
Usman’s co-host, former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo also said he “Would not be surprised if, with a good game plan, Ian Garry gets it done.”
UFC 310 takes place Saturday in Las Vegas and is headlined by a men’s flyweight title bout between Alexandre Pantoja and touted UFC newcomer Kai Asakura.
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