UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman is reportedly close to seeing his next opponent confirmed.
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Following the Nigerian’s most recent title defence against the highly-rated Gilbert Burns, many fans have been left wondering who the champion has left to face.
After largely clearing out the 170lb weight-class, Usman, now unbeaten in the UFC, only has two of the division’s top 10 ranked fighters left to beat.
However, according to a recent claim from leading MMA journalist Ariel Helwani, Usman’s next opponent is likely to be former contender Jorge ‘Game Bred’ Masvidal.
The pair, who are well-documented to genuinely dislike each other, faced-off during UFC 251 last summer.
In what was another dismantling performance from the champion, Usman went on to claim a unanimous win over his Miami-born adversary.
Following Usman’s win over Burns earlier this year, the pound-for-pound great wasted no time in calling Masvidal out for a rematch.
Despite the initial call-out, Usman quickly retracted his statement by eluding to the fact he had changed his mind.
However, in an exciting turn-of-events, fans have learned that they could still be treated to a mouth-watering match-up after Helwani revealed the fight is close to being agreed upon.
Speaking to ESPN, the MMA expert said: “This fight’s not dead. Honestly, I’d be shocked if this fight didn’t happen […] And by the way, they’re pretty close [to finalising the fight] from what I’m told.”