Kamaru Usman has no time for disrespect.

The former UFC welterweight champion fell under some critique this week, or his manager Ali Abdelaziz did, for that matter. It was a bit of a combined reaction after the Dominance MMA head was seen in an episode of the new UFC docuseries Fight Inc. declining an offer for Usman to fight Shavkat Rakhmonov because he preferred a matchup against Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson.

As clarified by Usman, the footage was not recent and ultimately led to him stepping in on short notice to fight Khamzat Chimaev in a middleweight affair at UFC 294 this past October. Rakhmonov, on the other hand, went on to fight and defeat Thompson via second-round rear-naked choke at UFC 296 two months later.

“This was done a year ago,” Usman said on Pound 4 Pound. “After that, guess what? I stepped in there on nine days’ notice and fought possibly the most dangerous guy in the UFC at that time Khamzat Chimaev. So what you saying? There’s nothing to say.

“When I do get back into the octagon, I don’t give a flying frick who it is. If it’s cousin John, if it’s this guy, if it’s that guy, if it’s Shavkat, if it’s ‘JDM’ (Jack Della Maddalena), if it’s Leon Edwards or if it’s Belal [Muhammad], I don’t care who it is. When I am ready to step back into the octagon and I want to fight somebody, I don’t give a sh*t, I’ll fight who I need to fight.”

Usman, 37, hasn’t fought since the Chimaev clash, which saw him lose a third consecutive bout when the judges scored the fight a majority decision for “Borz.” Directly prior, he dropped two title outings to his aforementioned rival Edwards.

The surging undefeated 18-0 star contender Rakhmonov has played with some of the responses and reactions to the Usman negotiations, previously claiming Usman didn’t want the fight. He also shared some old training footage of him and Usman, which the “Nigerian Nightmare” didn’t take kindly to.

Usman has options between welterweight and middleweight at this juncture in his career. However, he won’t rush back on anyone else’s time.

“You don’t become champion and defend over and over and over and over because you’re scared to fight somebody,” Usman said. “Like, shut up.

“I’ve moved around with him (Rakhmonov) a little bit to kind of give him a look. He tweeted a picture of me, Leon, and Colby [Covington] under a rock or something. I’m gonna save that photo. This is one of those things because he does come down here in south Florida to train at a gym that I’ve been training at before he was even hanging — don’t pull me down because now the competitor in me is gonna come out and I’m gonna start talking sh*t. Listen, I’m not even in that place, but before he was dreaming of fighting in the UFC, I’ve been in this gym training and doing whatever, and helping my guys get to the top while I got to the top. It is what it is.

“There’s a thing called respect and you show the respect in order for you to get the respect,” Usman concluded. “When it’s time for me to come out and dance, I step in that octagon and I dance all over motherf*ckers.”

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TOP STORIES

Boom. Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler off; Alex Pereira vs. Jiri Prochazka 2 now headlines UFC 303

Fights. PFL 4 Results: Moldavsky vs. Vassell

Change. Khamzat Chimaev out; Robert Whittaker now faces Ikram Aliskerov in UFC Saudi Arabia main event

$$$. UFC Louisville salaries: Dominick Reyes earns biggest payday on card following first win in 5 years

Story. 13-year-old prodigy Talon Worden has designs on conquering UFC, wrestling, and the Olympics

Status. Anderson Silva clarifies future plans for fighting after boxing Chael Sonnen in Brazil

Rematch. Savannah Marshall ‘quite confident’ she will beat Claressa Shields in MMA

Bruised. UFC Louisville medical suspensions: Andrea Lee, Brad Katona face indefinite layoffs

Goal. Raul Rosas Jr. determined to beat Jon Jones’ youngest UFC champ record: ‘I’ve got four years to break it’

Crossover. Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum reveals head coach uses UFC fights to motivate team during NBA Finals

Boxing. Demetrious Johnson calls Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul ‘the stupidest f*cking thing’ in combat sports

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LET’S WATCH

Between the Links.

Benavidez vs. Gvozdyk Staredowns.

One of the greatest trilogies of all time.

Delayed.

PFL Uncasville Highlights.

Masvidal-Diaz Countdown 1.

Aspinall prepares.

Fancy gogoplata from back control.

Cooking with Volk.

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MORNING MUSIC

Go to Twitter, use the #MorningReport hashtag, or find one of my tweets with it, and drop me a jam you’re currently really into. I’ll pick the best one alongside my daily choice and give you a shoutout! You can also share in the comments below — those are just harder to sift through sometimes!

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SOCIAL SCROLL DOWN

Argentinian!

Welp.

Discipline!

Tally.

Absurd.

He couldn’t be any less serious.

Well, there’s the plan.

Step-by-step.

Wild.

Nice...

Almost fooled me.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Gregory Rodrigues (15-5) vs. Antonio Trocoli (12-3, 1 NC); UFC Vegas 93, June 15

Sedriques Dumas (9-2) vs. Denis Tiuliulin (11-9); UFC Saudi Arabia, June 22

Robert Whittaker (25-7) vs. Ikram Aliskerov (15-1), UFC Saudi Arabia, June 22

Alex Pereira (10-2) vs. Jiri Prochazka (30-4-1); UFC 303, June 29

Brian Ortega (16-3, 1 NC) vs. Diego Lopes (24-6); UFC 303, June 29

Anthony Smith (38-19) vs. Carlos Ulberg (11-1); UFC 303, June 29

Karolina Owczarz (5-3) vs. Sandra Succar (4-1); KSW 96, July 20

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FINAL THOUGHTS

This is my last Morning Report as a Washingtonian, friends. The move to Tennessee begins today so I’ll see you Tuesday rather than Monday. Have a great weekend and thanks as always for reading!

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EXIT POLL

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If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @DrakeRiggs_ on Twitter and let him know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Instagram and like us on Facebook.