Kamaru Usman would consider stepping into the octagon against his good friend Israel Adesanya if the UFC offered both fighters the small sum of $100million.
'The Nigerian Nightmare', 34, will make the fifth defence of his welterweight title at UFC 268 on November 6 against fellow American Colby Covington at Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena.
Usman has previously come out and said he has no interest in the prospect of fighting Adesanya.
But it appears he could be persuaded otherwise but only if the price is right.
And while he can't see that fight happening anytime soon, he didn't completely rule it out either.
"There's a difference between fighting and competing.
"If me and him decide we wanna compete, and the UFC is throwing a $100 million dollars at us, then we'll make it happen."
Kamaru Usman will face Colby Covington at UFC 268 on Saturday night
Usman's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, also said a potential fight against Adesanya, who is four inches taller than Usman at 6ft 4in, would have to make sense financially.
Adesanya, 32, won the middleweight title with a second-round stoppage of New Zealand-born Australian Robert Whittaker in October 2019.
Abdelaziz added: "It doesn't matter. I don't want him to fight his friend, that's what he believes in.
"But, you know, if it's two good friends – Mike Tyson told me this – if we're friends, let's make some money, man, and after that, we can shake hands.
"But I respect their friendship. I'm never gonna get in between that, but at the end of the day, if [Robert] Whittaker wins, Kamaru can go up and fight Whittaker, too. He'll whoop Whittaker."
But first, Usman must contend with Covington, which will be no easy task.
Covington, 33, hasn't fought since his fifth-round stoppage victory over Tyron Woodley at a UFC Fight Night last September.
But the controversial former interim welterweight champ is optimistic about his chances, recently telling ESPN: "I definitely felt like I was against the world that night. It feels like I'm the most hated man in the UFC, and I probably am.
"But I get a lot of pride in overcoming all of those circumstances and still being able to go out there and put on one of the greatest fights in the history of the company.
"Nov. 6, you will see my full potential, and I can't wait to see what the narrative will be.
"What will they say after that? Will they start making excuses for Usman? Or will they see me stake my claim and say that I am the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world?"
SOURCE : Givemesport
