Kamaru Usman reveals reason why he won't fight Israel Adesanya

Nigerian-American professional Mixed Martial Artist (MMA) Kamarudeen Usman has revealed the reason why he won't challenge Israel Adesanya for his middleweight title.

The Nigerian-born duo are two of the biggest MMA superstars in the world with both dominating their respective divisions at the same time.

Usman has often suggested that he could go up 35lb and bypass middleweight, where Adesanya currently reigns to instead challenge for the light-heavyweight gold.

Fans have continued to tease a possible bout between the pair, considering the number of people who would be fascinated to see how their styles match up.

However, Usman is keen to help young fans in the African nation see as many top stars as possible from Nigeria.

For that reason, the 35-year-old welterweight champions Adesanya losing their world titles isn't something he is keen to see happen, meaning a possible bout between the pair is unlikely to happen anytime soon.

In fact, since becoming two champions in MMA's top division, Usman and Adesanya have gotten even closer.

The duo pair often include Cameroonian heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, in their photoshoots to indicate how successful African-born fighters have been and can be in the sport.

"It's bigger than just sport because I didn't grow up seeing this," "I never grew up and saw 'oh wow, I could be an MMA fighter and be the world champion',

' I never grew up seeing that. But kids now get the privilege of seeing that.

"And not just one champion, you have two, and we're different flavours, we're completely different flavours. Izzy does it with his flair, I love his flavour and how he does it.

'Then I do it with my style. This is just different styles for them to be able to see and pick from, so that means more to me; having two Nigerian champions than just one." Usman said in an interview with BT Sport.

Since Usman began his MMA career, he has become a dominant unbeaten force in the welterweight division, losing only once early in his career.

Usman is set for the main event at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 278.

The defending champion will face Jamaican-born British professional MMA star Leon Edwards for the UFC Welterweight title in the early hours of Sunday, August 21, 2022, at 3:00am Nigerian time.

The fight will be available for viewers on cable network DSTV and also on ESPN.