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Emil Meek is not expecting Kamaru Usman to underestimate him. But if that’s the case, that’s fine, too.

The lead-up to Jan. 14’s welterweight meeting hasn’t exactly been a smooth process. There were visa issues. There was a rescheduling. There were doubts as to whether the matchup would ever happen.

And there was, naturally, some shade.

The two were supposed to meet last weekend at UFC 219 before Meek’s visa became an issue. While “Valhalla” eventually solved it, both Usman and his manager indicated it could be too late. Meek, in turn, kept pushing for the fight against “Kamaru Duckman.”

A few weeks before the original booking, when it was all but certain that at least Dec. 30 was a no-go, Usman had a composed, yet brutal explanation of why he would have no reason to avoid Meek.

“Let’s be honest: look at the fight,” Usman told reporters in Detroit. “What about Emil Meek scares me that’s like, ‘Wow, don’t fight this guy’? No. Does he have big power, really? No. Can he out-wrestle me? No. Can he out- grapple me? No. This was a, ‘Stay busy, here’s a fight, because no one else will fight you, here.’

“He’s kind of trying to make it seem like, ‘Oh, you’re trying to duck me?’ What do I have to duck? I’m asking for harder guys. How is that me ducking you? It makes no sense.”

Ouch.

Then, in line with his manager’s talks of chasing “much bigger, scared fish” than Meek, Usman also took the opportunity to vent about controversial rising welterweight Colby Covington, who, according to Usman’s own account, had repeatedly avoided a fight with him.

As we now know, the original booking panned out. And Meek (9-2-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC), who gets a crack at the highly touted Usman (11-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in an FS1-televised main card bout at Scottrade Centre in St. Louis, Mo., doesn’t seem to be taking Usman’s attitude too personally.

“He’s an intelligent guy, I guess,” Meek told MMAjunkie Radio. “I don’t want to admit it, but he probably is. He’s probably just trying to put himself up in the position after the fight where he can get fights like that.

“If he overlooks me, that’s good for me. I’m not expecting it. I’m expecting a good Kamaru Usman. I expect him to prepare for me, as well, as anyone else. So I don’t really care what he says.”

One can see why Meek doesn’t seem too bothered by anything right now. Faced with the No. 9 fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA welterweight rankings in what will be his second octagon appointment, there’s certainly a lot to be gained here.

To hear from Meek, watch the video above.

And for more on UFC Fight Night 124, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

MMAjunkie Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia, Brian “Goze” Garcia and Dan Tom. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

Filed under: News, Radio Highlight, UFC, Videos