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ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – JULY 12: Kamaru Usman of Nigeria celebrates after his victory over Jorge Masvidal in their UFC welterweight championship fight during the UFC 251 event at Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island on July 12, 2020 on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
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ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – JULY 12: Kamaru Usman of Nigeria celebrates after his victory over Jorge Masvidal in their UFC welterweight championship fight during the UFC 251 event at Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island on July 12, 2020 on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Kamaru Usman vs Jorge Masvidal at UFC 251 was the second most successful pay-per-view event for the UFC in 2020. The short notice fight between the ‘BMF’ Jorge Masvidal and Kamaru Usman was only beaten by Conor McGregor at UFC 246.
Although the PPV did extremely well, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ received a lot of criticism for his showing against Masvidal. Usman grappled extensively and used a lot of foot stomps, which became a meme later on. However, it got the job done, and he was able to retain his title, which is ultimately the most important thing for any champion.
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ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – JULY 12: (L-R) Kamaru Usman of Nigeria kicks Jorge Masvidal in their UFC welterweight championship fight during the UFC 251 event at Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island on July 12, 2020 on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Usman now defends his belt for the third time next month when he takes on former teammate Gilbert Burns at UFC 258.
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Kamaru Usman shares his thoughts on his performance at UFC 251
In a recent interview, Brett Okamoto asked ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ what he made of his performance at UFC 251 and why he was upset with the same.
He said, “I was a little unhappy with that. At this point, it is me vs me. I liked the Covington fight, and the reason I loved that fight is because he pushed me to be able to look at myself and say look at all the stuff you have in the toolbox and throw them all you. You gotta use them. I was able to use that and it showed in that fight.”Usman continued, “I was able to use them and it showed in that fight. But with someone like Masvidal, I did not even have to dig deep in the toolbox… I think that was kinda what made me a little unhappy because me vs me looking back at it I could have gotten him out of there. I could have done a lot better, and that’s why I was a little down about it”.
‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ has a tough challenge on his hands. Not only is he facing someone who is excellent in all areas of a fight, he is facing a former teammate who has spent a lot of time with him. It will be interesting to see how Trevor Wittman and Kamaru Usman cope with the challenge that is Gilbert Burns.
