Kamaru Usman wants to make UFC matchmakers' job easy by laying out fight schedule

UFC welterweight Kamaru Usman figures from his current position in the 170-pound class, he has about four jumps to make before he’s champion.

“Every outside ranking other than the UFC, I’m sitting about 16 or 17,” Usman (9-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) told MMAjunkie Radio. “So I think it’s literally four fights.”

That also happens to be the number of winning UFC fights he has under his belt since his turn on “The Ultimate Fighter 21.” If the promotion wants to put him on the path to success, he’s got some ideas of the names to get started in the right direction.

“I want to fight Dong Hyun Kim next,” Usman said. “I think I’ll beat the brakes off him. And then I want Neil Magny, and don’t get me started on that. I think I will run him over.

“And if Demian Maia is still hanging around and he wants it, of course, he didn’t want the fight. I already asked him for the fight, if he wanted to make easy money, but no. If he feels like I’m easy prey, I’ll be happy to take him on.”

Wanting and getting are two different things in the UFC, of course. There are a lot of intangibles at work when it comes to who the promotion favors. But these days, box office appeal trumps all.

Just ask onetime middleweight title challenger Maia (24-6 MMA, 18-6 UFC), who’s won six straight in the welterweight division and, according to champ Tyron Woodley, wasn’t even in the discussion for the next title shot.

Usman agrees with many of his colleagues who see a developing trend, where those who are good entertainment get opportunities before those who are good fighters.

But he also believes that if the promotion wants to invest, it can make anyone into a star. Naturally, he’s hoping they’ll bestow that spotlight on him. To his dismay, he hasn’t gotten the sense that’s reciprocated.

“We’ve had talks, but for some reason, they’re skeptical about building someone, or throwing someone out there,” Usman said. “They’re like, we don’t want to push you too soon. No. If I’m asking you to push me, that means I’m ready. Push me, dammit.

“A lot of times, the matchmakers, and (UFC President) Dana (White), they’re not in your camp. They don’t see me practicing every day. They don’t know what I’m capable of doing. And this is a quote that Rashad (Evans) told me: You’re only as good as your last fight. So that’s all they see.”

Since Usman’s emphatic finish of Hayder Hassan in the finale of “TUF 21,” the UFC brass has seen three straight decisions, including a dominant one over a Brazilian “TUF” champ, Warlley Aves (10-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC).

Usman wants the chance to show he’s not just a guy that grinds out opponents until judges get involved. Maia, Kim (19-5 MMA, 12-4 UFC) and Magny (19-5 MMA, 12-4 UFC) are all unbooked at the moment, so timing is, for now, on his side.

“I’m telling these guys, I will beat the brakes off these guys in the top-10, and for some reason, they don’t want to filter out that top-15 and get some new blood in there,” he said. “You’ve got guys like myself, Alan Jouban, and Vicente Luque, we’re just waiting for a chance to get one of those top-15 guys.”

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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