Kamaru Usman News

Tom Taylor - February 20, 2018

Kamaru Usman wants to fight Colby Covington. At this point, that’s no secret. Apparently, however, Usman is getting tired of waiting for his fellow welterweight contender to oblige him. On Monday, “The Nigerian Nightmare” once again called out his rival, this time challenging him to a showdown at UFC 224, which goes down May 12 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – a nation packed to the edges with Covington haters. Apparently, if Covington doesn’t answer Usman’s calls this time, Usman will never entertain the idea of fighting him again.

Justin Golightly - January 17, 2018

It’s 2018 and Darren Till still hasn’t been booked. You can chalk it up to scared opponents, intelligent strategy, or just the UFC’s booking department. Either way, he’s been wanting a fight ever since his dominant performance against veteran Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone. Pretty much every welterweight in the entire division has been in talks for a fight with the Scouser, but none have materialized. Till’s eyebrows  raised up for Kamaru Usman’s fight last weekend, thinking Usman was going to call him out, but alas it didn’t happen. He once again voiced his frustrations in a recent interview. “I thought if [Kamaru Usman] won, he would definitely say my name. I didn’t even watch the fight, but all I’ve heard is that he has terrible striking and all he did was force his opponent up against the fence. He might be able to do that to Emil Meek, but he wouldn’t be able to do it to me. I’m twice the size of him for f-ck’s sake. I’m twice as strong as him. Usman has been talking so much sh-t and his performance didn’t prove anything to anyone. He’s saying that he was at 30 percent, but once you’re in that cage your excuses go out the window. It doesn’t matter if you’re feeling ill or if you’ve got a broken bone, you’ve gone in there because you’ve decided that you’re in good enough condition to fight. I don’t believe in any of that bullsh-t.”

Tom Taylor - January 15, 2018

Last night, on the main card of the UFC’s anticipated debut in St. Louis, streaking welterweight contender Kamaru Usman wrestled a tough Emil Meek to a decisive unanimous decision win. In his post-fight speech, “The Nigerian Nightmare” explained that he’d executed this win at “30%”. While Usman’s win was undeniably dominant, it didn’t do much to impress UFC President Dana White. White also didn’t like Usman’s 30% comment.

Tom Taylor - January 14, 2018

Shortly after Darren Elkins’s epic comeback win over Michael Johnson and the UFC’s touching tribute to the recovering Matt Hughes, welterweight contenders Kamaru Usman and Emil Meek stepped into the cage to do battle. Round one of this fight was decisively Usman’s. Though he very nearly dove into a Meek guillotine with his first takedown, he survived this scare to control the rest of the round, softening his viking foe up with ground-and-pound in the process.

Justin Golightly - January 12, 2018

Kamaru Usman is frustrated to say the least. He’s campaigned for the better part of a year for higher ranked names to test himself against, but the fights never got booked. All of the big fights he’s wanted have either passed him by for some reason or another, or have been taken by Colby Covington. So, make no mistake that going into his fight this Sunday against Emil Meek, he’s going to fight the man who was willing to step up, but he’s not taking his eyes off of bigger things. Sooner or later, he believes he and Covington will have to fight. Not just because the natural progression of the rankings, but because it is written in the book of fate. “It’s a fight that has to happen. It’s a fight that has to happen because I believe this is fate. This fight has been written. How much of a small world do we live in? I was a little boy born in Auchi, Nigera, in a country full of over 200 million people, in a small farm town. To get to the point where I immigrate here, I’m in America, to where I get to college and I cross paths with the people that I have. Let’s just summarize this a little bit: Me and Jon Jones crossed paths senior year of high school. We met at senior nationals, a big wrestling tournament, and after that, we became friends. ‘Hey, I’m going to go to school in Iowa next year.’ He said, ‘I’m going to go to school in Iowa [too].’ That’s great. We stayed in touch.”

Tom Taylor - December 18, 2017

For weeks and weeks, the status of Kamaru Usman and Emil Meek’s anticipated welterweight scrap has been uncertain. Originally, the fight was scheduled to occur at UFC 219, on December 30 in Las Vegas. Regrettably, it became known that Norway’s Meek was having a difficult time acquiring a US visa, which shrouded this contest in doubt. At that point, Usman claims to have been offered a replacement fight with fellow welterweight contender Colby Covington, which he claims Covington turned down. From there, Meek secured his visa in time for his visit to the US, assuring that he’d fight on Usman at UFC 219 after all, but apparently it was too little too late. The fight was removed from UFC 219, while multiple reports suggested it would likely be rescheduled for UFC 220, which goes down on January 20 in Boston.

Tom Taylor - December 13, 2017

Though it’s still an undeniably strong card, UFC 219 has not had an easy go. Ever since it was announced, the December 30 card has been rocked, rattled and reassembled by injuries and other issues, and this week, the trend is continuing. According to Ariel Helwani, the card is now down one welterweight contender clash, as the 12th-ranked Kamaru Usman’s scrap with Emil Meek is being rescheduled for UFC 220, which goes down January 20 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Justin Golightly - December 1, 2017

UFC 219 feels like a cursed card. The main event was constantly up in the air, a fight between Cris Cyborg and Holly Holm was in limbo, Dominick Cruz pulled out with an injury, and Kamaru Usman is basically the hardest person to find a fight for on the roster. Finally, Emil Meek was made official as the opponent for the surging welterweight contender, but eventually even that match-up looked to be off due to Meek’s United States visa trouble. He told us that he intends on showing up at UFC 219, and it looks like he kept his word. Emil Meek has just received the visa that will allow him to fight. Great news for @emilvalhalla: he has officially received his US visa. Meek tells me he is awaiting word from the UFC as to whether his 219 fight versus @USMAN84kg is still on. Hoping to get that today. pic.twitter.com/ODlUmcYRH7

Justin Golightly - November 14, 2017

Kamaru Usman, along with all the fight fans looking forward to UFC 219, have simply not had the best of luck. There is no main event, Dominick Cruz is off the card and now Usman’s opponent Emil Meek will not be making it to the card due to a Visa issue. After Usman aired his grievances of multiple opponents ‘ducking’ leading up to the now-canceled fight, it’s easy to see how the surging welterweight is frustrated. Luckily, the game Darren Till has stepped up and wants the fight. I guess I wasn’t lying… @emilvalhalla for stepping up. Now everyone else can get back to @ColbyCovMMA @darrentill2 @danawhite @seanshelby @Mickmaynard2

Tom Taylor - October 30, 2017

Earlier this month, we learned that streaking welterweight contender Kamaru Usman had been paired with Norwegian knockout artist Emil Meek for a fight at UFC 219. Now, however, Usman is claiming this bout is in jeopardy, as Meek might not be able to make it to the event. Usman also claims the UFC has reached out to Colby Covington to replace Meek. My opponent might not be able to make it Dec30th so @ColbyCovMMA let me hear your excuses now why you can’t make it either

Justin Golightly - October 20, 2017

With seven welterweight match-ups booked from now until the end of the year, it was curious that Kamaru Usman became the odd man out. He didn’t find it that confusing though, he actually thought he knew the answer. The fact of the matter is, Usman thinks he hasn’t got a big name opponent because those would-be challengers knew they didn’t have a shot. It’s only fitting that the only guy who rose to the occasion is a viking. That’s right, Usman has been booked to fight Emil Meek at UFC 219. BREAKING: Kamaru Usman (@USMAN84kg) vs. Emil Meek (@emilvalhalla) added to #UFC219 in Vegas (December 30th) #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/OBtKgPXA91

Justin Golightly - October 18, 2017

Kamaru Usman is a problem. If you didn’t already know that, he screamed it to the world after he destroyed Sergio Morales in the first round at fight Night 116. He’s on a 10-fight win streak, six of them were UFC fights. He was breifly in talks to fight Rafael dos Anjos in what would be his biggest fight so far, but eventually was passed up for Robbie Lawler. He shrugged it off and said Mike Perry would also be a good fight, but Perry (who’s ranked four spots under Usman) got matched up with ninth-ranked Santiago Ponzinibbio. So, where is Usman’s shot at someone that will get him closer to a title shot? In his words, they’re avoiding him because they know they’ll lose.   “I think from the fan perspective, I think I’m slept on. As far as me not getting my hands on a ranked opponent [it’s because] they’re smart enough to know that they have no chance. I dominate these guys from start to finish. And not just that, I can talk, I can sell, and I can fight. How can you not promote the guy?”

Tom Taylor - September 25, 2017

Over the last few days, several rumors have surfaced suggesting that rising UFC welterweight contenders Kamaru Usman and Mike Perry might soon collide in the cage. On Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, however, Usman assured that there’s nothing in the works with Perry, and that he’s instead keen on a fight with former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos. Kamaru Usman’s issues with Anjos stem from the Brazilian’s rapid rise through the welterweight rankings – something he does not feel is justified.

Tom Taylor - September 17, 2017

Last night, on the main card of UFC Fight Night 116 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, rapidly rising welterweight contender Kamaru Usman picked produced a thunderous, first-round KO win over the dangerous Sergio Moraes. With this win, “The Nigerian Nightmare” further established himself as one of the brightest young contenders in the UFC welterweight division. In his post-fight interview with Jon Anik, Kamaru Usman sought to capitalize on this growing reputation with a callout of former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos, who now stands out as one of the top contenders at welterweight.

Chris Taylor - September 16, 2017

A welterweight scrap between Sergio Moraes and Kamaru Usman took place on tonight’s UFC Fight Night 116 main card in Pittsburgh. Usman was able to land multiple heavy shots early and often in round one before he eventually face-planted Moraes with this massive overhand right.

Chris Taylor - April 8, 2017

UFC 210 Results: Kamaru Usman vs. Sean Strickland A welterweight scrap between Kamaru Usman and Sean Strickland took place during tonight’s UFC 210 prelims in Buffalo, New York.

Tom Taylor - November 22, 2016

Last Saturday, on the main card of UFC Fight Night 100, streaking welterweight Kamaru Usman dominated Warlley Alves to a lopsided, unanimous decision win. It was one of the best wins of his already impressive career. In the moments after his defeat of Alves, Usman sought to catapult himself up the welterweight rankings with a callout of the streaking Demian Maia. Unfortunately for him, Maia wasn’t particularly interested in this callout. Given that he holds the welterweight division’s number three spot, while Usman is not yet ranked, that’s not particularly surprising.

Tom Taylor - November 20, 2016

On Saturday night, the UFC touched down in sunny Sao Paolo Brazil with UFC Fight Night 100. Over the course of the 12-fight card, we witnessed a handful of truly impressive performances. One of the most applause-worthy of the bunch was Kamaru Usman’s three-round domination of the highly regarded Warlley Alves. Relying not just on his incredible grappling skill, but also on a vastly-improved standup game, Usman dominated his Brazilian foe from bell-to-bell, earning himself a sound, unanimous decision win as a result. These days, fighters are often criticized for their reluctance to take advantage of the opportunity to issue callouts in the wake of big wins. This was not a problem for Usman. After a brief discussion of his performance with Octagon-side commentator Jon Anik, Usman attempted to earn himself a big step up in competition with a callout of the welterweight division’s third-ranked fighter, grappling wizard Demian Maia. Not only did he assure he could defeat Maia, he also promised that he’d stop him in the first round.