Kamaru Usman reveals he almost replaced Nate Diaz to fight Leon Edwards at UFC 262

Kamaru Usman was crazy enough to step in and fight Leon Edwards at UFC 262.

Kamaru Usman wasn’t kidding when he said he wanted a quick turnaround fight.

‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ recently revealed that he almost made preparations to fight Leon Edwards after Nate Diaz withdrew from their UFC 262 co-headliner on May 15.

That fight was rescheduled for UFC 263, however, but Usman still wants to remain active.

“I’m crazy in the sense to where as soon as I heard about (Diaz’s withdrawal), I just landed here in Atlantic City for my brother’s fight. And I’m quarantined in my room,” Usman told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto (h/t Clyde Aidoo of MMA News). “And I hear about it. And I look around, and I look in the bathroom. So I pick up the phone, and I speak with my manager Ali, and I tell him, ‘Hey…” and he already knew what I was gonna say… I’m like, ‘Hey, I need to check my weight, and I’mma go put in some rounds in the morning. And depending on how I feel, we might be fighting next week.”

“And he goes, ‘Are you kidding me?’ And I’m like, ‘Nah, we might be fighting next week.’”

The reigning welterweight champion is now likely to sit out and fight the winner of Edwards vs. Diaz or rematch Colby Covington, whom Dana White has confirmed as Usman’s next opponent.

UFC 263, which will feature Edwards vs. Diaz on the main card, is scheduled to take place next month, June 12 at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.