Douglas Lima is widely considered to be one of the best and most dangerous welterweights on the planet. But, Bellator’s welterweight champ wants the chance to prove it against the UFC’s elite, including Kamaru Usman.

Lima’s latest reign as Bellator’s 170 king

Lima recently began his third run as Bellator’s welterweight champ, by handing Rory MacDonald a decision loss last month. MacDonald took the 170 belt from Lima in January, 2018, by recording a UD win over the heavy-handed fighter.

The ATT Atlanta fighter had advanced into a bout with MacDonald, via Bellator’s welterweight grand prix, by finishing Andrey Koreshkov and Michael Page.

Lima’s belief he can take out anyone in the UFC

Following Lima’s latest championship win, he spoke with MMA Fighting. While talking about his desire to throw hands with the UFC’s top welterweights, as well as his fellow champ, Usman, Lima said this:

“I can’t really know if I’m the best or not, because the UFC is out there, and there’s no way we make this fight happen,” Lima said. “But I know I’d beat anyone there. All I want is for the UFC to do co-promotions too, but I’m sure it will never happen.”

“The champion, no doubt,” said Lima, referring to Usman. “I would choose the one who’s considered the best. Usman is really tough, has good wrestling…

“He’s on a roll, (and) he’s breaking everyone, so it would be a good fight for me, even if his style doesn’t favor me. I had problems with wrestlers in the past, and he has good wrestling. But I’m evolving, (and) I’m feeling great. I don’t think too much about it, but it would be great if that happened.”

“A knockout, right? For sure,” Lima answered. “I’d go for the knockout. He has knockout power, but he usually wins by decision. I believe we would eventually find that chin.”

Ya. Unless Lima ends up leaving Bellator, the chances of him fighting Usman, or any of the other top UFC welterweights, seems slim to none. While Lima would very likely be the underdog in a bout with Usman, if you’ve watched him fight, you know why he’s confident he’d score a KO.

Case in point, during Lima’s time with Bellator he’s bombed out Koreshov, Page, Ben Saunders, Bryan Baker and Chris Lozano, among others.

Usman, meanwhile, is booked to fight rival and former interim champ Colby Covington at UFC 245, December 15th.

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