‘8 Zeroes’- Kamaru Usman Names a Price to Fight Jake Paul

UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman has joined a long list of fighters who want to have a fight with the YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul. The Nigerian successfully defended his crown recently at UFC 261 and is looking for a fresh opponent.

While speaking in an interview with ESPN, the champ was asked about his particular desire to fight Paul. Usman said in his reply, “I don’t really entertain it honestly. But when you see there’s a lot of work that I have put into my sport to get to the position that I’m in.”

“And when you see these guys come in and just (say) ‘uh I want to challenge him, I want to challenge that guy. It’s almost disrespectful.

“It’s almost disrespectful to the point where, like I said earlier, I’m also the judge and sometimes you might wanna go out and send them a clear message and give them a harsh punishment.”

The interviewer asked Usman about the paycheck that would make him jump into the fight with YouTuber. Usman had a ready answer for this question. “I think the check would have 8 zeroes in it. If there are eight zeroes in front of the check, then for sure, we’d consider it. For sure,” he replied.

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Kamaru Usman targets Conor McGregor

‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ has reached a point in his career where he can certainly have a say on other fighters. In the interview, he also had something for the ‘Notorious’ one.

“Right now, he’s more of a loudmouth. He is a guy that can compete but he is not the champion,” Kamaru said.

“Conor McGregor, he’s not the double champion. He is not that guy anymore. He is just a guy that is in the UFC… if he wasn’t Conor and hasn’t done the things that he has done he would be just a regular fighter.”

Usman further added that McGregor is left with only money and hype. He said the old Conor is missing whom all fighters including him respected. He is just a regular fighter now, according to Usman.

Conor and Usman had exchanged some words on Twitter, after the latter won his match against Jorge Masvidal last month at UFC 261.

Usman fighting Conor or Paul doesn’t seem likely at the moment as all have some other consignments to fulfill. McGregor is training for a trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier. Meanwhile, Paul is looking forward to facing Mayweather.

What did you make of Usman’s statement on Paul?