Kamaru Usman responded to Dricus Du Plessis's claim that he was scared to fight, pointing to his short-notice acceptance of a bout against Khamzat Chimaev and his subsequent fight against Jorge Masvidal. Usman insisted his record of taking tough fights on short notice speaks for itself and declared he is willing to beat anyone.
Kamaru Usman has pushed back against Dricus Du Plessis's suggestion that he lacked the courage to fight, pointing to two high-profile bouts as evidence of his willingness to step into dangerous waters at short notice.
Du Plessis, the 32-year-old South African middleweight currently ranked second in his division and seventh on the pound-for-pound list, made the cowardice claim against the former welterweight champion. Standing six-foot-one with a 76-inch reach and carrying a 23-3-0 record, Du Plessis has established himself as one of the most dangerous fighters in the sport, landing 5.18 significant strikes per minute at 48 percent accuracy while also averaging 2.22 takedowns per 15 minutes.
Usman's rebuttal centered on two specific fights. The first was his short-notice acceptance of a clash against Khamzat Chimaev, the 32-year-old middleweights' top-ranked contender who carries a 15-1-0 record and is considered among the most complete fighters in the division. Chimaev, who represents the UAE and trains out of Allstars Training Center, lands 4.04 significant strikes per minute at a punishing 60 percent accuracy and averages a remarkable 5.29 takedowns per 15 minutes. The second fight Usman cited was his bout against Jorge Masvidal, the 41-year-old American veteran who holds a 35-17-0 record and has long been regarded as one of welterweight's most dangerous strikers, averaging 4.05 significant strikes per minute across his career.
Usman argued that willingly accepting those matchups on short notice demonstrates a pattern of courage that contradicts Du Plessis's characterization, and stated plainly that he is ready to defeat anyone placed in front of him.
Why it matters
- Du Plessis sits at number two in the middleweight rankings, meaning any future Usman matchup carries significant divisional weight
- Chimaev, the top-ranked middleweight, was one of the names Usman invoked, underlining the level of competition he claims to have embraced
- The public exchange keeps Usman's name firmly in the middleweight conversation despite the callout originating with the champion-adjacent Du Plessis
