Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman shared his side to the story of why his targeted fight with Islam Makhachev never happened.

Kamaru Usman will return to the middleweight division for a showdown with former UFC champion Dricus du Plessis in the UFC Oklahoma City main event later this month. Usman, who hasn’t fought since defeating Joaquin Buckley at UFC Atlanta last year, has the chance to potentially earn a middleweight title shot with a win over Du Plessis.

Before the Du Plessis fight came to fruition, Usman was linked to a showdown with UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev. Makhachev, who shares the same management as Usman, named Usman his initially preferred opponent after winning the welterweight belt at UFC 322.

But the fight never materialized – and Makhachev and Usman will fight different opponents this summer. Makhachev will fight rising contender Ian Machado Garry in the UFC 330 main event in his first welterweight title defense.

After a lot of uncertainty surrounding Makhachev and Usman’s next fights, the former UFC welterweight titleholder gave his side of the story of why their bout never happened.

Kamaru Usman reveals ‘behind the scenes’ speed bump to Islam Makhachev fight

In a recent episode of the Pound 4 Pound podcast, Usman explained why he didn’t get the next UFC welterweight title shot despite his long wait.

“We all know what fight that I wanted, I wanted that [Islam] fight. So I think there was a lot of back-and-forth stuff being done and we’re hearing stories about them potentially making Ilia Topuria vs. Islam,” Usman said.

“So all of these things behind the scenes dragged it on, and Dricus du Plessis was mentioned. Not offered, but mentioned…I said I just needed something that gets me to the title, I just want that.

“If you’re not going to give me the title [fight], then give me something that gets me to the title.”

What is your prediction for Dricus du Plessis vs. Kamaru Usman? Let us know in the comments!