Kamaru Usman On His Future, Cain Velasquez’s Jail Time

Kamaru Usman, the former UFC welterweight champion, has revealed that his future moving forward remains uncertain.

The MMA fighter is coming off his third straight loss after coming second best to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 via a unanimous decision.

Usman’s Future

The welterweight had moved up to middleweight for the first bout of his career at the weight class, as win could have placed Usman in line for a title shot against Sean Strickland.

The task was complicated by the fact that Usman took the fight on short notice following Paulo Costa’s decision to pull out of the fight with an infection.

The defeat also followed two losses to Leon Edwards, showing the fighter’s lack of good form. With that being said, Usman opened up on the changes that need to be made moving forward.

“You drop two razor-thin ones to Leon [Edwards]. You go years without losing, and you drop two close ones like that, you start to kinda question things and start to doubt yourself a little bit. You almost forget what it feels like. If there’s anything I can take away from tonight, I need to trust myself more and trust my coaches. Fighting a young, hungry bull like that…I didn’t trust my shape. I’m a championship fighter and you can’t start slow like that. Give me a couple extra rounds, I think the world knows what that result might be,” Usman said 

Velasquez’s Jail Time

At the same time, Cain Velasquez, the former UFC heavyweight champion, also has an uncertain future as he looked back on his recent time behind bars.

According to reports, Velasquez spent eight months behind bars, as part of the MMA fighter’s attempted murder trial that is set to go ahead in January 2024, before being released on bail.

Velasquez had been apprehended last year in March for allegedly being in a car chase and then shooting at the driver of a car, who had allegedly molested his four-year-old son. The driver in question was hit by the bullet and injured.

Thereafter, Velasquez was charged with attempted murder and gun charges with the possibility of spending 20 years in jail if found guilty.

The bail was set at $1 million as Velasquez was required to stay away from the alleged molester via a protective order. Clearly, that was a tough period for the former MMA fighter as he outlined.

“We’re so blessed every day, and we’re so down on the dumbest things. When s*** gets taken away, you realize, ‘Oh, I had all this, I had all this.’ I had the opportunity to just leave when I wanted to. Leave in my car and go outside, look at something, look at nature. Have the opportunity to go look at something like that and appreciate the day. Each day, we’re never really the same. Each moment, when you look at something, like a tree, something so small like that, that tree will never look like that, ever again, except for that moment that you’re looking at it. It will never be the same, how the leaves are, how the wind is blowing. If you want to go that deep, it will never be the same again, except for that one moment. So take the time, appreciate that moment was for you,” Velasquez stated 

Ultimately, it is a tough period for Velasquez as the outcome of the trial will have a bearing on the fighter’s legacy moving forward.

However, in the meantime, members connected to the MMA community have voiced their support for the fighter. Although that may be the case, the trial decision will define Velasquez’s future moving forward. Time will tell how it all plays out moving forward.