Kamaru Usman Wants To Retire A Two Division UFC Champion, Maps Out Blueprint

Kamaru Usman has an idea of how he wants his legendary UFC career to come to a close ... and he let TMZ Sports in on the blueprint -- and it all starts with the winner of this weekend's UFC 322 main event!

We chopped it up with the 38-year-old former welterweight champion ahead of the promotion's return to Madison Square Garden in NYC on Saturday, and Usman says he's got an eye on the title scrap between champ Jack Della Maddalena and Islam Makhachev, who surrendered his lightweight belt to go for gold in the 170 lb. division.

"I think [the fight is] a toss-up, but I do think Islam has the grappling edge when it goes down to the ground," Usman said. "I think he's just done it longer. We'll see what happens. But of course, I'm looking to get in there and potentially test myself against the winner."

While there's no timetable for the Nigerian Nightmare to return to the Octagon -- Usman last beat Joaquin Buckley by UD in June -- whether it's at the White House or his mom's house (as Kamaru jokes), he hopes the path includes fighting the welterweight strap holder.

"The storybook would be to go and grab this title, then go and grab the other title," Usman, who was WW champ for 3.5 years, told us.

That other title? Well, that would be the Middleweight strap, currently held by Khamzat Chimaev ... who handed Usman one of his four career losses, albeit in a super close fight that Kamaru took on short notice.

"I think that's an intriguing fight," Usman said. "That's a compelling fight that everybody would want to see on a full training camp to go out and challenge him."