Kamaru Usman says he has no interest in the Israel Adesanya battle, and tells KhamzatChimaev that he will be there waiting.

Kamaru Usman has plenty of challenges still ahead of him, but unless Israel Adesanya is no longer champion, fighting for the UFC middleweight title isn’t among them.

On the mend following hand surgery and targeting a summertime UFC return, Usman addressed the possibility of moving up to 185 pounds on Wednesday, continuing a conversation that began after he recently revealed that he briefly considered challenging for the UFC light heavyweight title while Jan Blachowicz was still champion.

” I’ve stated it before, so long as Israel Adesanya remains the champion, there is no reason for me to go there,” Usman said to Jim Rome. “But when Jan Blachowicz was the champion at light heavyweight, of course, I thought it was a great matchup.

“I’m not saying I would just demolish the whole light heavyweight division. I’m saying I thought that was a great matchup, and I thought that I would have been a two-time champion, and skipping middleweight and becoming the light heavyweight champion.”

While the chance to face Blachowicz never came to fruition, Usman doubled down on the notion that he would never attempt to take Adesanya’s title away. The two may not be training partners, but Usman has long considered Adesanya a friend, and the only way he’d entertain the fight is if the UFC put up a massive sum of money that neither fighter could ignore.

” I’ve already said it, Adesanya is a fellow Nigerian. A good guy. I like him, I like his approach. It’s simple, I said it: I would rather have two Nigerians with belts than one Nigerian who has two.

“If Dana [White] is willing to sit us down and say, $100 million, ‘Hey guys, let’s split this up,’ at that point Israel and I would have to talk. We would then have to speak and tell our little brother (my blood brother) that we are going out there and making this money .'”

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It’s obviously unlikely the UFC will put up a purse of that magnitude, so for now Usman will have to stay focused on his own division.

As he waits for his hand to heal, Usman is likely targeting Leon Edwards as his next opponent, but the name that gets brought up to him most often is undefeated Chechen prospect Khamzat Chimaev.

Despite being just 4-0 in the UFC with two wins at welterweight, Chimaev has quickly become one of the most talked about fighters on the entire roster, and he hasn’t been shy to call for a title shot against Usman.

For his part, Usman welcomes the chance to face Chimaev, but first the 27-year-old prospect has to actually earn the opportunity.

“There is a reason that there’s such a structure,” Usman stated. “So he’s done great with the opposition that he’s been presented, and by the time he gets here, once he gets here, of course we’ll have that conversation. But I am the champion. I’m the best pound-for pound in the entire world. I am the king of the castle. Everyone wants to have a piece. That’s great. I like that.

“I remember when I was starting out and couldn’t get fights. I could not get the next man to join me. Now that I am at the top of my game, that is no longer necessary. These guys have to call me out and these guys have to come to me. If they do make it here, I will be there .”