No Hands? No Problem: Kamaru Usman Says He’ll be Ready for Tyron Woodley in August
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight champion Tyron
Woodley has declared he has recovered from his shoulder injury
and will be ready to defend his belt on Aug. 4 at
UFC 227, according to reporter Ariel Helwani.
“The Chosen One” has been vocal about appearing on that card in the past, although nothing officially has been announced, including who he would be defending the belt against.
Helwani’s tweet has ignited interest from Kamaru
Usman, who said he’d be more than willing to welcome Woodley
back inside the Octagon.
While the UFC has not released a status of Usman’s injuries, color commentator Jimmy Smith, who was working the event over the weekend, claims he saw Usman after the fight and said “The Nigerian Nightmare” was unable to close either of his hands.
If Usman’s hands are indeed broken, he’ll have less than three months to heal and then prepare for Woodley.
The UFC currently has an interim title bout scheduled on June 9 at UFC 225 between former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Santos and Colby Covington. Usman would be banking on that fight being too close to the Aug. 4 event for the winner of that fight to get the chance to fight Woodley.
Stephen Thompson, who is ranked No. 1 by the official UFC rankings, takes on Darren Till this weekend in Liverpool, England, and would be the favorite to earn a trilogy fight against Woodley having already lost and drawn with him in their previous meetings.
“The Chosen One” has been vocal about appearing on that card in the past, although nothing officially has been announced, including who he would be defending the belt against.
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I know a guy that’s more than willing https://t.co/tIoKphBMiH
— Kamaru Usman (@USMAN84kg) May 23, 2018
While UFC President Dana
White is a fan of fighters who come out asking for fights, it
was reported that Usman had suffered fractures in both of his hands
following his comprehensive victory over Demian Maia
at
UFC Fight Night 129.
While the UFC has not released a status of Usman’s injuries, color commentator Jimmy Smith, who was working the event over the weekend, claims he saw Usman after the fight and said “The Nigerian Nightmare” was unable to close either of his hands.
Just ran into @USMAN84kg on the street. He can’t close either hand. He was slinging those things till the end, lot of heart in that fight on both sides.
— Jimmy Smith (@jimmysmithmma) May 20, 2018
If Usman’s hands are indeed broken, he’ll have less than three months to heal and then prepare for Woodley.
The UFC currently has an interim title bout scheduled on June 9 at UFC 225 between former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Santos and Colby Covington. Usman would be banking on that fight being too close to the Aug. 4 event for the winner of that fight to get the chance to fight Woodley.
Stephen Thompson, who is ranked No. 1 by the official UFC rankings, takes on Darren Till this weekend in Liverpool, England, and would be the favorite to earn a trilogy fight against Woodley having already lost and drawn with him in their previous meetings.
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