UFC Welterweight Rafael dos Anjos Wants Kamaru Usman at UFC 228

With the announcement that Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight champion Tyron Woodley would be returning to defend his belt against Darren Till at UFC 228 next month, another middleweight contender in Kamaru Usman has revealed he was contacted by UFC matchmakers as a stand-by opponent in case either fighter was unable to compete.

Usman revealed the call he received on “The MMA Hour” Monday and when the story was eventually posted on Twitter, Rafael dos Anjos politely reached out to the “Nigerian Nightmare” with an offer to fight him on the card with Dos Anjos even claiming he would be OK if Usman did get the call up.

The fight would make sense for Usman as he is technically ranked below Dos Anjos according to the official UFC welterweight rankings and with current interim champion in Colby Covington the obvious choice for the next title fight, Usman may have to beat another high-ranked opponent to convince UFC matchmakers that he is ready for a title shot.

The 31 year-old is undefeated inside the Octagon (8-0) with notable victories over Leon Edwards, Sean Strickland and most recently Demian Maia back in May.