Why Usman must vacate welterweight belt – Promoter

UFC welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman has been tipped to do well if he moves up to the light-heavyweight division.

Promoter Chael Sonnen believes he will have a speed advantage should he make the move, and also thinks that the pound-for-pound king must vacate his welterweight belt in order to move up to 205lbs.

According to him, since the ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ will potentially be moving up two weight classes, the welterweight champ must vacate 170lbs.

The 45-year-old recently said on YouTube, “He’s going to have massive speed. I mean you can get the X’s and O’s and you can start to have fun and you can even just tell me, ‘Hey Chael, it’s too big and he’s not gonna go there’. I think if we were to get there, if we were to be real serious when we were to get there, Kamaru’s going to have to vacate 170 pounds.”

Usman had previously considered moving up to 205lbs to challenge then-champion Jan Blachowicz. The light-heavyweight title has since changed hands, with Jiri Prochazka currently reigning top of the division.

Usman has wiped out almost the entire welterweight division during his rise and reign atop the welterweight division. However, he has been out of action since last November, recovering from a hand surgery sustained during his rematch with Colby Covington.