Kamaru Usman had a very dominant role in successfully defending his title against Jorge Masvidal at UFC 251 last July. “The Nigerian Nightmare” won by unanimous decision, with two judges giving him a 50-45 score and a judge scoring 49-46.
Last week, Usman was registered on ESPN to reveal that he accepted the fight with his nose broken. As he explained to Brett Okamoto, this happened during one of the sparring sessions during the camp.
“Two weeks ago, destroyed,” he said. “Many people have not dealt with a broken nose. When something comes close to your face, you are trying to defend yourself and not get hit in the nose. There are some guys here who hit really hard. We can blame Carrington Banks and Justin Gaethje. “
After going through a period of self-criticism, Usman says he wants another chance with “Gamebred”. This time, he wants to end the fight in a much more decisive way.
“I was unhappy because, as much as I put it in preparation for the fights, I was basically on autopilot in that fight,” he said. “Many things have influenced this struggle. … I am much better than that. I have a lot more tools and skills to show than I showed, because out there, I beat him with things I’ve been doing for five years.
“It’s me against me out there. So, there is a potential for this fight to happen again if he works alone there, but I want to do it again because I want to put an exclamation in it. I want to end it. I want to be impressed. “
Usman will first have to overcome his next challenge in the form of former teammate Gilbert Burns. The two will headline UFC 258 on February 13 at UFC APEX in Las Vegas.