Riding high on his win at UFC Vegas 100 against Neil Magny, Carlos Prates shared some interesting speculations about the welterweight division’s next big fight. According to Prates, the UFC is eyeing a December showdown between former welterweight champ Kamaru Usman and rising star Shavkat Rakhmonov.
While nothing is confirmed yet, with Usman’s untouchable record and Rakhmonov’s meteoric rise, this clash would make for an exciting matchup as the welterweight division continues to heat up.
In a conversation with Usman, Karyn Bryant, and Rashad Evans, Prates explained what he believed to be his immediate future in the promotion and claimed he had heard conflicting reports, much to the Nigerian Nightmare’s amusement.
“First I would like to fight Jack Della Maddalena but I heard something like the UFC wants to do Kamaru Usman against him. But I also heard Kamaru Usman would fight Shavkat, but if he fights Shavkat, probably he won’t fight in February. So I am here and if Jack Della Maddalena agrees, I would be really happy, come to Australia, Brazilian guy, come to enemy camp. Also, I think another good option would be Geoff Neal.”
Welterweight champion Belal Muhamad was set to defend his title against Rakhmonov at UFC 310, the last PPV of the year in December. However, a foot infection for the champion has forced the fight to be postponed.
In Belal’s absence, Rakhmonov insists that he wants to stay active and is ready to take on a replacement. While there are rumors of an interim title being introduced, so far there are no concrete reports of anything.
Usman breaks his silence on Shavkat fight
Usman is a familiar face at Rakhmonov’s gym and is more than ready for the challenge, despite their shared training environment. But will it help him prepare since if the fight does come to pass, it will be a rather small camp for the former champion? After all, the last time he fought with a short camp against Khamzat Chimaev, he ended up losing his third fight in a row.
The answer is a resounding NO! Usman clarified that, while they’ve crossed paths in the same gym, Rakhmonov and he weren’t exactly teammates.
This also means that there’s no hesitation on his part about taking on the Khazakh fighter.
Before Belal vs Rakhmonov had been announced, Usman had been beefing with the Palestinian-American champion. There was a distinct possibility that he could have been the champion’s first title defense. Funnily enough, Belal had even suggested that Usman and Rakhmonov should fight to decide who gets to go to prom with him.
However, being the gentleman he is, Usman hopes Belal makes a full recovery and can return strong. For now, he’s prepared to give the champion exactly what he had wished for.
