Kamaru Usman credited Colby Covington for their heated rivalry.
The pair clashed twice with Usman emerging victorious both times.
Since then, the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ has lost the welterweight belt and seen himself drop down the UFC rankings.
Kamaru Usman Credits Colby Covington for Success
Former UFC champion Kamaru Usman credited Colby Covington for being the perfect opponent for him. Speaking on the Weighing In podcast Usman said: “I say it all the time, and I know people can’t believe the fact that I would actually go, ‘Credit to Colby Covington,’”
“I used to hear it all the time where people say, ‘You need a dance partner. You need a great dance partner.’ And he was that.
“In that fight, in that first fight, it was so much tension to where it challenged me so much to prepare, to train, and to go out there and just get locked into the zone. It was almost addicting, that zone where I don’t care what happens.”
Prior to both of their fights the build-up was palpable. Coby Covington who is known for his brash trash talking goaded Kamaru Usman for his appearance and his father’s stint in American prison. Whilst Usman launched his own trash talk the build-up highlighted the genuine hatred the pair had for each other.
Furthermore, for any rivalry to thrive you need a perfect ‘dance partner’. Connor McGregor had Nate Diaz, Jon Jones had Daniel Cormier and Kamaru Usman had Colby Covington
What Next for Usman?
Since their clash Kamaru Usman’s career has stalled. First the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ lost the belt to Leon Edwards and didn’t fair any better in the rematch. After a clash with rising UFC prospect Khamzat Chimeav resulted in Usman’s third consecutive loss.
After being in control of the welterweight division for three years with several title defences, Kamaru Usman has seen his career stall. At one point the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ was labelled as one of the best in the world by the UFC.
Kamaru went on to say; “That’s a great thing (rival) to have. For me, I always learned very early on that I’m very self-motivated I am. But I learned very early on that it’s a fight against myself. I always want to prove myself wrong, and a lot of these fights it was me shocking myself that, ‘Wow, I really was able to do that. I really fought the battle in my mind to do that.’”
What is net for Kamaru Usman? Comment below!
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
