Kamaru Usman's manager rules out retirement for former UFC champion

Kamaru Usman has seen better days inside the Octagon. Since losing the welterweight title in 2022, the former UFC champion has won only once in his last five fights. In his last appearance in the cage, when he was defeated by Dricus Du Plessis, "The Nigerian Nightmare" was clearly disappointed with his own performance and even questioned if it was still worth continuing his career. Despite Usman's own concerns, his manager believes he is not going to retire. In the view of Ali Abdelaziz, the Nigerian can still accomplish plenty fighting as a welterweight.

Ali Abdelaziz Rules Out Kamaru Usman's Retirement

At 39 years old and going 1-4 in the past few years, it wouldn't be surprising if Usman retired at this point in his career. However, his manager believes the time hasn't yet come for the former champion to hang up his gloves. Speaking to MMA Junkie, Abdelaziz declared that Usman won't be retiring before praising him as the best welterweight in history.

"Kamaru Usman is not gonna retire," Abdelaziz began. "He's been fighting the best guys in the world. He's not losing, nobody is whipping Kamaru's ass, he's always in the fight. [...] Kamaru Usman is a future Hall of Famer and the greatest welterweight fighter of all time."

Ali Abdelaziz Believes Kamaru Usman Should fight as a Welterweight

Besides believing that Usman still has plenty to offer inside the Octagon, Abdelaziz also thinks the former champion should be fighting in the 170-pound division. According to the manager, Usman finds himself at a physical disadvantage when he fights as a middleweight, in addition to the fact that there are good matchups for him in the welterweight division.

Because of that, he would like to see him move back to the weight class where he reigned as champion for more than three years.

"I was always against him going to middleweight because I think he's too small," Abdelaziz said. "If he decides to stay, I would like him to go back to welterweight because there are a lot of right opponents for him at welterweight."

After losing his welterweight title to Leon Edwards, Usman was given an immediate rematch but suffered another defeat to the Englishman. He then moved up to middleweight to face Khamzat Chimaev and lost by majority decision. The Nigerian Nightmare returned to welterweight for his next fight and bounced back with a unanimous decision victory over Joaquin Buckley before moving up again to challenge Du Plessis, who defeated him by unanimous decision.

With Usman now coming off a loss at middleweight, a return to the welterweight division could give the former champion a new opportunity to extend his career. Whether he follows his manager's advice remains to be seen, but Abdelaziz is convinced that The Nigerian Nightmare still has plenty left to offer.