Kamaru Usman continues to make his case for a welterweight title shot.

Last month, Islam Makhachev moved up to 170 pounds and defeated Jack Della Maddalena to claim the welterweight title. Makhachev’s win immediately created a bit of a horse race at 170 pounds, with multiple contenders vying for an opportunity to be his first title defense, including Usman, Shavkat Rakhmonov, Ian Machado Garry, Carlos Prates, and Michael Morales. And while the jury is still out on who will get the opportunity, Usman, the former longtime champion, keeps laying out why he should get the first shot.

“Listen, it is what it is,” Usman said on the Pound-4-Pound podcast. “If the company says, ‘We want to book the biggest fight right now in that division,’ it’s hands down, I think we know what the answer is. Former pound-for-pound vs. pound-for-pound.”

Usman is not alone in wanting that fight, as both Makhachev and their manager, Ali Abdelaziz, have openly lobbied for it. Given the numerous options, though, Usman recognizes he may not get it, and so he also gave his thoughts on who would deserve it if he doesn’t, giving props to Prates and Morales especially.

“Who else would be worthy? I like a lot of these guys,” Usman said. “I’m fans of them. I would say right now, for me, I would say Prates. I still think maybe another fight, because I feel like he’s done so much in such a short time. It wasn’t enough to let that ripple effect really touch the masses all over the world. But I would say Carlos Prates. Right now, I like everything I’m seeing from him. His willingness, his excitement to go out there and compete and fight. Even if he loses, it’s like, ‘OK, I have to fix that, and I’ll come back.’ That’s what I love to see, and I think that’s what Dana, and the company, and Hunter [Campbell], and these guys love, is guys like that. So I love Prates.”

“Morales, too, is also impressive. No hate on these guys. I love what these guys are doing. I’m a fan of these guys, and I’m going to continue to be a fan of these guys unless they give me a reason not to be.”

There is, however, one guy that Usman thinks isn’t in the mix right now: Ian Machado Garry. Garry is currently ranked No. 2 in the UFC welterweight rankings and just beat former champion Belal Muhammad in the main event of UFC Qatar a few weeks ago, and he also has a win over Prates earlier this year. But for Usman, Garry isn’t in the conversation.

“Ian’s doing work, too, but you can’t literally sit here and say he’s done more work than what Prates has done,” Usman said. “You can’t sit here and say he’s done more work than what Morales has done. Yeah, he’s done good work, too.”

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On that list of welterweight contenders, Usman is either last or second-to-last for who should get the shot. Fortunately for him, the UFC just booked Volk vs. Diego Lopes 2 for some reason, so it’s clear they don’t care at all anymore. Nothing matters, eat Arby’s.

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