Kamaru Usman Cites UFC Deep End Test Amid Usman Nurmagomedov Hype
Kamaru Usman says the UFC has a habit of throwing decorated outsiders into the deep end, and he used that history while discussing what a jump from another promotion can look like. The comments, made with Henry Cejudo on their Pound 4 Pound show, land as PFL lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov weighs a possible UFC future.
Usman was not talking about a signed fight. He was describing a pattern he has watched for years.
“Henry, we know it’s kind of been a thing when some of these guys from different promotions come over to the UFC. The UFC goes, ‘All right, you’ve been talking a mess out there for a while. We’re gonna throw you in the deep end. Go ahead, get somebody.'”
He then listed the names that, to him, prove the point.
“Yeah. Hector Lombard, Mirko Cro Cop, Eddie Alvarez, Patricio Pitbull, Ben Askren, Aaron Pico, Alistair Overeem, RDR.”
That roll call is not one story. Eddie Alvarez arrived from Bellator and later won the UFC lightweight title, while several others on the list were given hard first tests and lost them.
Mirko Filipovic was knocked out by Gabriel Gonzaga in his UFC debut. Alistair Overeem lost his octagon bow to Brock Lesnar. Ben Askren was finished in five seconds by Jorge Masvidal in one of the promotion’s most replayed knockouts.
The newer names sit closer to the current debate. Aaron Pico was knocked out by Lerone Murphy in his UFC debut at UFC 319, then beat Patricio Pitbull in April. Pitbull had already lost his own UFC debut to Yair Rodriguez at UFC 314.
Reinier de Ridder, the RDR on Usman’s list, lost his UFC debut to Robert Whittaker. He is now 4-2 in the promotion after a first-round stoppage of Roman Dolidze on Aug. 22 in Sacramento.
Usman’s argument is about matchmaking, not a claim that every import collapses. In his view, a big reputation from Bellator, Pride, or the PFL often gets paired with a UFC regular who can take the shine off it immediately.
That is why the clip is being tied to Usman Nurmagomedov. The 28-year-old is 22-0 with one no contest, the reigning PFL lightweight champion, and coming off a first-round knockout of Archie Colgan on July 31 in the final fight of his PFL contract.
He is also Khabib Nurmagomedov’s cousin and has been treated as the biggest free agent outside the UFC. PFL CEO John Martin has said the promotion still has an exclusive negotiating window and that the UFC is not legally allowed to make an offer yet.
Nurmagomedov said this week that talks with PFL are still going and that the 90-day period has to play out. Daniel Cormier urged him after UFC 330 to stop waiting and prove himself against the UFC lightweight division.
Kamaru Usman, 39, is a former UFC welterweight champion who lost a five-round decision to Dricus du Plessis on July 18. He is speaking from inside the promotion’s ecosystem, not from a contract negotiation.
He did not name a debut opponent for Nurmagomedov. He described what he believes the UFC does when a fighter arrives with outside hype.
A UFC signing would put Nurmagomedov into a 155-pound division currently led by champion Justin Gaethje, with Ilia Topuria, Arman Tsarukyan, and Charles Oliveira still in the mix. No debut has been announced, because no deal has been announced.
The next confirmed step is the PFL window. When that exclusive period ends, Nurmagomedov and manager Ali Abdelaziz can choose between a new PFL offer and a UFC bid, with Usman’s warning now attached to the hype.