Kamaru Usman explained that his Nigerian pedigree prevented a rivalry between him and Israel Adesanya, despite his goal of becoming a two-division world champion.
Usman sometimes even suggested lifting 35 pounds to bypass Adesanya's dominant middleweight division and challenge for gold in the light heavyweight division.
But I grew up without seeing Nigerian fighters in martial arts. Usman wants to help young fans in African countries see as many of their country's top stars as possible. Therefore, neither he nor Adesanya losing the world title is not what he wants.
Usman and Adesanya have come even closer since becoming two champions in MMA's top promotion. The pair also often include reigning heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou of Cameroon Francis Ngannouin their photo shoots to show just how successful the African-born fighter is in the sport.
"I didn't grow up watching this, so it's more than just a sport," Usmanexplained to his BT His Sport. “Growing up, I never thought, ‘Oh, I can be an MMA fighter and become a world champion.’ I never grew up watching that. I have the privilege of watching
”There is one champion, there are two. We have completely different tastes. Izzy does it with his talent. I love his flavor and the way he does it. Then I do it in my style. This makes more sense to me because they just have different styles to look at and choose from. There are two Nigerian champions, not one he is.” Usman has looked unbeatable since coming to the UFC after a successful amateur League Two career. I was. He was inducted into the College Wrestling Hall of Fame this week. He lost once early in his MMA career, but has since become a dominant welterweight and has never lost again since being promoted. }
He has defeated many top challengers in his division twice. Colby Covington has given him 10 tough rounds in 2019 and 2021. But there's no getting him off the 170-pound belt and rooting for favorite Jorge Masvidal.
Even Leon Edwards, his challenger at UFC 278 on Saturday night, has tasted defeat at the hands of Usman before... re. In his 2015, when Usman had just won Season 21 of Ultimate His Fighter, the two fought back and the Nigerian won comfortably by unanimous decision.
However, Edwards has never lost again since that night, continuing his nine-game win streak in the division, so the pair now have a chance to win it back. Usman remains quite the favourite, but it is believed that if anyone could dethrone him, it would very likely be him from Birmingham. Read
