Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman says he has earned the right to challenge the winner of the upcoming UFC 322 main event.
Usman, coming off a win over Joaquin Buckley that snapped a three-fight losing streak, stated that his sights are set firmly on the victor of the title fight between Jack Della Maddalena and Islam Makhachev.
“A lot of people had a lot of questions: ‘Can he still fight? Is he still this guy? Is he still this way?’ I hope I proved that to everyone,” said Usman, according to an interview with MMA Junkie. He added: “I have my eye on this weekend. We’ll see who comes out victorious … I’m sitting here looking at the winner like, ‘All right, let’s run it.’”
Usman continued: “It’s not that I’ve had conversations, because the UFC is gonna do what they feel is best for them. You just have to let it play out … I’ve showed them I am still that guy.”
If the UFC opts to grant Usman the next high-profile matchup, he could find himself facing the welterweight titleholder soon. UFC 322 is set to determine that champion and thereby potentially usher in Usman’s next big fight.
Usman, widely regarded as one of the greatest welterweights in MMA history, held the title before suffering three consecutive defeats, and his victory over Buckley marked a significant rebound.
UFC 322 is scheduled to take place on November 15, 2025, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, with the main card airing on ESPN+ pay-per-view. The event will be headlined by a welterweight title bout between Jack Della Maddalena and Islam Makhachev, with the co-main event featuring a women’s flyweight title fight between Valentina Shevchenko and Zhang Weili.
