UFC champion Kamaru Usman explains why he tapped instead of being choked unconscious in his lone career MMA defeat

Kamaru Usman has explained why he tapped out instead of going unconscious in his only pro defeat in mixed martial arts.

For many MMA fans across the globe, Kamaru Usman is the pound-for-pound best in the sport right now. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ is the UFC welterweight champion and after successfully defending his belt five times, there are very few individuals who would dispute just how good he is.

Of course, everyone has a history before coming to the UFC, and the majority of fighters have losses on their record – with Usman being no exception.

The 35-year-old is 20-1 and in just his second professional fight, he was submitted by Jose Caceres in the first round at CFA 11.

During a recent interview, Usman spoke about why he tapped as opposed to letting the lights go out.

“I ain’t gonna be eating for a while if I don’t tap right now. There’s no way. I have no idea how to defend myself right now… I don’t regret it because I’m broke. I’m broke-broke. But at the end of the day, of course I would like to be undefeated in my career. But it’s true what they say: you learn more from your losses than your wins.”

“In my head I was like, I’m never going to let that happen again. When I got done, I was so embarrassed I hid for a week… My girl at the time had come to watch me fight. So I just got beat in front of my girl… After a loss, I’m walking down the street — I don’t care who it is. It’s an old lady at the edge of the street, she knew I got my a** whooped. In your mind, you feel?”

Quotes via Sportskeeda

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