Issue 189

April 2020

Kamaru Usman doesn't do trash talk, or adopt an outlandish personality. He just gets on with the business of taking out all-comers.

It wasn’t all that long ago that Kamaru Usman was one of the most avoided fighters on the UFC roster. His suffocating wrestling and relentless cardio had many a welterweight turning down a fight with him, but now he’s the champion he has no shortage of men calling his name.

Usman’s run in the UFC began back in 2015 when he competed on The Ultimate Fighter 21 series which saw the Blackzilians gym take on American Top Team. His run to the final saw him topple Michael Graves, Steve Carl and eventually Hayder Hassan whom he beat in the finale event in Las Vegas. That night Usman won himself a six-figure UFC contract and a Performance of the Night bonus in what would be the start of a glittering career in the UFC Octagon.

Fast forward four and a half years and Usman now holds the UFC welterweight title with 15 straight wins, 10 of which came inside the UFC Octagon. The “Nigerian Nightmare” has looked close to unstoppable, but as always for UFC champions, as soon as one opponent has been dispatched, several others are waiting on the sidelines ready to be given their opportunity.

Usman’s situation now is a far cry from what he faced back in 2018 when the UFC matchmakers were finding it difficult to get him an opponent. Speaking recently in Las Vegas, the champion reflected on how different life is now he’s got the gold.

“I’m the champion and that’s it, plain and simple,” Usman said. “They [the challengers] have to come to me. There’s a reason now why they have to talk about me and that’s because I have the gold. Believe me when I say anyone can get it. I have never said no. When Dana White calls and says ‘I want you to take out this guy,’ I just say, ‘Alright, just tell me when.’ I’ve never been one to pick and choose fights and I’ve never turned down a fight in my career. Now I don’t have to beg for fights anymore and they have to come to me.”

The man Dana White appears to have called upon for Usman’s second title defense is none other than Jorge Masvidal. “Gamebred” had an incredible year in 2019 beating Darren Till, Ben Askren, and Nate Diaz in the UFC’s first-ever “BMF” title fight. Masvidal’s run of form drew praise from across the MMA community, but the champion wasn’t so impressed by the competition that he beat.

 In his eyes, he should be fighting the guys at the top of the UFC welterweight rankings and not the guy who made the most noise.

“This is a game where you need to fight the contenders,” Usman said. “If you look at the top 10 right now in the welterweight division, I’ve beaten more than half of them. Who has this guy beat? To me, is this being a contender, or is this the hype? These are two different things. When there’s a lot of hype they want to make the fight happen, but when it’s a true contender, a guy who has been running through everyone to get there, of course, I want to fight that guy because he’s the next toughest challenge. That’s all this is about.”

The mind games between champion and challenger were initiated by Masvidal who in January claimed that former coaches of his who had moved to train Usman at Sanford MMA had warned against fighting him. As you can imagine, this wasn’t something that sat well with the champion and he vehemently refuted this ever happened.

“Do you think that anyone around me would tell me to avoid fighting someone else?” Usman said laughing. “No, they wouldn’t. It’s funny, there used to be a trainer that worked at ATT that is now with us. What these guys don’t understand is that I’m not here by accident.

“That trainer happens to be my first wrestling trainer as a kid. He was my first wrestling coach at high school when I was just 13 years old. I went off to college and then didn’t see this guy for years and years, and somehow this guy ends up in MMA and now he’s my coach again. Why would he tell me to avoid anybody? He knows who I am and what I’m about. Why of all people would he tell me to avoid anybody.”

Though Masvidal will bring his own belt to the table, Usman appears to have zero interest in trying to take it from him. The “Baddest Motherf***er” belt holds no significance to him and he just sees Masvidal as the next man in line he needs to run through.

Usman is conscious of the fact that beating Masvidal probably won’t make fans believe he’s the greatest welterweight of all time and he seems to be resigned to the fact that people will always be questioning whether he can beat the next challenger.

“I’m not interested in the ‘Best Mediocre Fighter’ title. This right here is gold,” Usman said pointing at this UFC welterweight title belt. “I’ve always shot for the best and last time I checked the prices on silver weren’t up there with gold. I always wanted gold and not silver, and right now I got gold.

“Look man, I’m just having fun with it,” he continued. “One thing I realized recently is that the moment you get done, people can’t wait to say ‘this next guy is the one that’s going to dethrone you.’ People didn’t think I would beat Tyron Woodley and I went and got it done. Then they said I wouldn’t beat Colby, but I went and got it done. Every fighter has their fanbase, but it is what it is. The thing is I know what I’m capable of and I know what I can do. I’m willing to sacrifice anything it takes to be the best and right now I am the best.”

Of course, Masvidal isn’t the only one wanting a piece of Usman. The biggest name in the sport, Conor McGregor, hasn’t hidden his desire to challenge for a historic third UFC title and the Irishman has made it abundantly clear that he fancies his chances against Usman.

The Nigerian Nightmare declined the opportunity to stoke the fire with McGregor, but again just reiterated that he’s happy to face any challenger that the UFC put in front of him.

“Seriously, if Conor [McGregor] wants it, then he can get it too. I don’t discriminate with the ass whooping,” Usman said. “If Dana decides that he wants to throw this guy in the mix then I’m going to do my job. Conor is a guy who is special to the world of MMA and I’m no hater. I give credit where credit is due and that young man has done a lot for the sport.

“If he feels he wants to step in and challenge then [I respect it],” he continued. “He’s trying to make history to fight for a third world title and I would be stupid to stand in front of that and deny him that opportunity. Conor can get it too if he wants it.”

Whilst reluctant to call out either Masvidal or McGregor, there’s one former UFC welterweight champion that Usman has no problem with saying he wants to challenge. Georges St-Pierre currently says he’s retired, but if there is ever the possibility of him once again gracing the UFC Octagon, Usman says he’d be honored to be the man standing across from him.

“That’s a fight that really motivates and intrigues me,” Usman said. “When I sign on the dotted line to fight, I’m ready to go, but to fight Georges, wow, that’s a fight that really wakes me up. Georges is someone that is special to the MMA world. He has the record right now that I’m chasing and what better way to cement my legacy than going out there and breaking that record against that man. He hasn’t lost. He’s still in tip-top shape and he showed a few years ago against Bisping that he can come back and get it done. It’s a fight that I would like a lot and I’m looking forward to it when it happens.”

The pre-fight build-up for a potential fight with St-Pierre would likely be the opposite to what it was for Usman’s last fight with his long-time rival, Colby Covington. Though Usman kept things pretty much on a level, Covington sunk to desperate and sometimes uncomfortable levels to get under the skin of the champion.

The fight itself was at least epic and will live long in the memory with Usman eventually winning in the fifth round via TKO. Many thought Usman would take delight in breaking Covington’s jaw following his win, but this was never the case.

“I know towards the end of it he said a lot of stuff, but I was never maliciously trying to hurt him,” Usman said. “I want him to go back to his family and be OK. I’m just a competitor and I want to beat them competing. Silencing the doubters and proving I can perform in that chaotic situation was the best thing about winning.”

Usman’s win over Covington saw him defend his UFC welterweight title for the first time and take his record to 16-1. Having beaten the likes of Tyron Woodley, Rafael dos Anjos, and Leon Edwards during an unbeaten run that started back in December 2013, Usman is fast building a resume to put him amongst some the greatest welterweight of all time.

His run to the belt is perhaps most impressive given he’s done it without ever needing to act out of character and draw attention with his antics outside of the Octagon. When asked why he has never taken the path that so many other fighters have taken of late, Usman didn’t hesitate to answer.

“When I was growing up, I had a lot of people touch my life in different ways,” Usman said. “At some points in my life, I’ve been blessed to have seen people have a smile on their face and do well at their job. Whether it’s been my coaches or my parents, they’ve set the example for me and now as a parent myself, I have to set the example for my kids.

“This isn’t fake, this is who I really am,” he continued. “A lot of guys like to put on an act that they are fake tough guys and that they are this or that, but I’m not a gangster. I’ve never sold any drugs or anything like that. Yes, I had a rough childhood and I grew up in borderline poverty, but at the end of the day, I still got here and I still hold those values. This isn’t me trying to do anything different. This is just who I am.”

Whilst he knows he might not be the most headline-grabbing fighter within the UFC, Usman knows he’s forever going to be comfortable in his own skin. The 32-year-old is arguably in the prime years of his career and wants to be remembered in UFC history for all the right reasons. It’s abundantly clear that setting an example for his children is always going to be more important to him than grabbing attention in the media.

“Let’s be honest, me being real and who I am, I’m never going to get the credit compared to someone who is outlandish and gets all the attention, but that’s fine with me,” Usman said. “When I go home, I can still be the same person and these guys have to turn it off. These guys put on act and get all this attention and recognition, but what happens when you aren’t that guy anymore and all that attention is gone. How are you going to handle that? Some of the media don’t give me the credit. They just think I’m going to come out and say the same thing and be respectful. They want headlines, but I’m just going to be myself.”

Usman himself isn’t the only man to have witnessed his hard work paying dividends. His teammates at Sanford MMA have witnessed his rise from the early days back at the Blackzilians gym and one man who has been there for the whole ride is Michael Chandler.

As a multiple-time Bellator lightweight champion, Chandler knows what it takes to rise to the top and stay there and he sees all the right qualities in his teammate.

“Kamaru is an amazing champion and a good friend of mine,” Chandler said. “He’s always working, both in and outside of the gym. It’s always fun to be around him and seeing him work his way up as a contender, then to the UFC, then to the title and defending it has been inspiring. If he keeps working the way he is and keeping his nose to the grindstone with that humble mentality then he will reign for a long time as the champion. The sky is the limit for this guy.”

Having now risen to the top of the UFC welterweight mountain Usman has inspired many of his other teammates to elevate themselves to his level. Aung La Nsang has won two titles in two different weight classes in ONE Championship but even he sees Usman as a role model he aspires to be like.

“Even when he’s not in camp he’s helping out everyone in the gym,” Nsang said. “He’s got a great all-around skillset. His wrestling is great and his boxing is very good as well. People in our team really look up to him. I think what sets him apart from other people is his work rate. When he’s in camp he’s always the hardest-working guy in the room. He inspires me and the rest of us to just be better. He’s a massive part of our team.”

With the title around his waist, the biggest fight of his career ahead of him, and the backing of his teammates, now is a pretty good time to be in the shoes of Kamaru Usman. His unbeaten run has put him amongst the likes of Anderson Silva, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Tony Ferguson, Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones for the greatest number of consecutive wins, but if you think it’s all going to his head, you better think again.

Usman knows that if he sticks to his principles, he has a great chance of staying on the top of the UFC welterweight mountain for a very long time.

“I don’t even look at things,” Usman said. “I remember when I was coming in and fighting in The Ultimate Fighter and I was 5-1. I was looking at Anderson Silva at the time and I was thinking how do I get there? I just took it one fight at a time and next thing I know I’m 10-1, and then 12-1. But look, I still don’t pay attention to it all. If I stay focused and go in there and do my job I know the records will pile up.”