Kamaru Usman‘s knee troubles have been the biggest setback he’s faced in terms of his health as a fighter. He underwent surgery recently, but did it cater to his knees? Well, that is not clear. As of late, Ali Abdelaziz, his manager, disclosed that Usman’s issues have not been just about his knees because ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ dealt with a lot of other issues as well.

Kamaru Usman has been off the grid of action since last October when he gave Khamzat Chimaev a run for his money in his first middleweight bout. He mentioned that he needed to let his knees get back to 100 percent before competing again because, in his last few fights, he had been taking some serious medication.

Kamaru Usman had to take drastic measures to be able to compete, claims his manager

The UFC 307 pay-per-view is on the horizon, and Ali Abdelaziz, who manages some of the fighters on that card, gave an update on Kamaru Usman’s future. Is he staying at welterweight or is he moving to middleweight? Well, Abdelaziz claims that the picture about ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’s next step would get clearer when he sits down to chat with the UFC matchmakers.

“He’s [Kamaru] ready to go. Me and Hunter, this week, we’re gonna meet and we’re going to figure out what we’re going to do with Kamaru,” Ali Abdelaziz told ESPN. When asked about the current health situation of Kamaru Usman, his manager claimed that he had been struggling with health issues since his last seven fights; his struggles were so tough that he could get inside the cage to fight without taking injections in almost every part of his body.

“Every fight week of Kamaru for the last seven fights, we went and got him six injection shots—knees, shoulders, hips, everywhere. He got these injections just to fight… People don’t know what this man has been through,” Kamaru Usman’s manager added.

As Ali Abdelaziz put it, Kamaru Usman’s ready to go now. We may have to wait to see what’s next for him, but a couple of months ago, the former welterweight champion had already hinted at what he wanted to do on his return.

‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ previously mentioned returning to welterweight

The welterweight division is exciting with a new champion and new credible contenders on the rise. That interests Kamaru Usman, and that could pull him back to the 170-pound division, which could see him take on the likes of Jack Della Maddalena, Shavkat Rakhmonov, and the champion, Belal Muhammad. However, a return to middleweight depends on the “right fight.”

“It’s an interesting spot. I’ve never been in a spot like this… For me, I made my career being a welterweight… But, for the right fight, middleweight makes sense,” the former champion stated on ‘The Anik and Florian’ podcast. Where would you like to see him return? Belal Muhammad has already expressed wanting to cement his legacy and fight Usman, who’s arguably the greatest welterweight ever. Maybe he could come back for a second title reign, but only time will tell.

What do you make of Kamaru Usman’s unknown health struggles? Drop your comments below.