Images: Chael Sonnen/YouTube & Per Haljestam/USA TODAY Sports

Chael Sonnen Backs Kamaru Usman For Middleweight Success: 'I Believe He Could Beat Anybody In The World At That Weight'

Originally posted on MMA News | By Harvey Leonard | Last updated 3/19/24

Should former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman commit to a permanent middleweight venture, Chael Sonnen thinks he could be immensely successful.

Usman's future has been somewhat uncertain ever since he failed to regain his place on the welterweight throne at UFC 286 in London last March. There, he challenged Leon Edwards seven months on from the Englishman's come-from-behind knockout in Salt Lake City.

"The Nigerian Nightmare" fell short on the scorecards, marking his second straight defeat at the hands of "Rocky" and pushing him out of the title equation at 170 pounds for the first time in years.

Months on, Usman made a short-notice career shift, debuting at middleweight against Khamzat Chimaev as a replacement for Paulo Costa on the UFC 294 card last October.

While he didn't have his hand raised, Usman was widely praised for his performance, and he has been tipped by many to make his transition to 185 pounds permanent.

And former middleweight title challenger Sonnen, for one, likes Usman's chances...

Sonnen Onboard With Usman's Middleweight Confidence

During a video recently uploaded to his YouTube channel, Sonnen pondered Usman's yet-to-be-decided future, and assessed his chances of repeating some of the success he found at 170 pounds in the heavier division.

After highlighting Usman's performance opposite Chimaev in a short-notice middleweight debut, Sonnen suggested that "The Nigerian Nightmare" is capable of defeating any and everyone at 185 pounds.

"Kamaru Usman is the only athlete in the history of 170-pounders that you could say was better than Georges St-Pierre and not have people laugh at you," Sonnen said. "He was the best of his time by such a glaringly obvious gap. Not only did Usman beat everybody, but he beat them again... Usman's awesome.

"Usman came out and he was speaking about his experience at 185 pounds, his experience opposite Chimaev," Usman continued. "Usman is an endurance athlete. He will break you, he will beat you just on his ability to go harder and longer than you can... Usman said, 'I did have that pace, I did have that energy. But, I didn't know how to use it.' ... I believe him. I believe everything he said. I believe he could have won that fight (against Chimaev). I believe he could beat anybody in the world at that weight class. I believe all of those things."

It remains to be seen whether Usman will attempt to prove the likes of Sonnen correct by dedicating himself to the middleweight division moving forward.

Despite a promising first outing in the weight class, "The Nigerian Nightmare" did recently tease the pursuit of another opportunity to regain the crown at 170 pounds.