Ali Abdelaziz says Kamaru Usman should return to welterweight after middleweight bid

Kamaru Usman’s next move may not be another step upward. His manager, Ali Abdelaziz, said he would like to see Usman return to welterweight (170 pounds) for his next fight inside the Octagon, framing the move down as the most practical path after a middleweight experiment.

The middleweight stint came after Usman moved up to take on Dricus du Plessis in the headliner of UFC Oklahoma City. According to the report from Yahoo Sports, Usman did not get the desired outcome, losing a clear-cut unanimous decision. The loss is now driving the conversation about where Usman should fight next, with Abdelaziz indicating that the 170-pound division is where he believes Usman can be most effective.

For UFC fighters, decisions about weight class are rarely about one thing. At welterweight, a fighter’s usual strength, speed, and recovery patterns tend to line up more consistently with training routines built around that limit. Moving up can create a fresh set of matchups and strategic opportunities, but it also forces adjustments to pacing, size differences, and how opponents absorb pressure and attacks.

Abdelaziz’s comments place an emphasis on fit and momentum. Usman’s move to middleweight was framed as a challenge at a higher weight class against a specific opponent, not just a casual shift. Now, with the middleweight matchup ending in a unanimous decision loss, the manager’s view is that the clearest course is to return to welterweight rather than extend the experiment.

It is also worth noting that welterweight is one of the UFC’s deepest divisions, which matters when a champion or former champion is deciding how to set up the next phase of a career. Staying or returning to 170 can keep a fighter in the center of title-picture conversations and the division’s top-level matchups, instead of relying on others to create openings at 185.

What to watch next is how the UFC handles the “where does he fight” question for Usman. Manager statements are not match announcements, and there are multiple steps between a preference for a weight class and an approved opponent booking. The next few announcements from the UFC and Usman’s team will show whether Abdelaziz’s desire to see Usman back at 170 becomes a confirmed plan or remains a strategic inclination.

In the meantime, Usman’s transition back toward welterweight would also reshape how fans and analysts view his skill set. It would shift the conversation away from the adjustments required at middleweight and toward what his return means for his reach, wrestling exchanges, and the pace he can force in a division built around faster title-level rounds at 170. If the UFC pairs him with a welterweight contender next, the decision will also become a direct test of whether the prior matchup at 185 was an outlier or simply not aligned with his best competitive lane.