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Kamaru Usman Says Justin Gaethje Has Been Helping Him Bring the Fire in Training Sessions

Published 04/16/2021, 2:05 PM EDT

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The UFC welterweight champion of the world, Kamaru Usman, is on a high. He hasn’t lost a single fight in the UFC and has never been taken down in the entirety of his career. He’ll defend his title against Jorge Masvidal in the main event of UFC 261.

He spoke to Marc Raimondi ahead of this fight for an interview for ESPN MMA. He talked about a lot of stuff like his training partner, Justin Gaethje, his coach Trevor Wittman and his long-term future with the UFC. He also addressed some comments that Jorge Masvidal made about him being scared.

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However, keeping that aside, Usman had a lot to say about Justin Gaethje. The interviewer asked him if Gaethje was a part of his training camp, and Usman said yes. “Yes, Justin Gaethje has been a huge part of the camp. We’re each other’s main training partners,” he said.

They have been training together for a while now. However, Justin has fought just once in that time period, and that was his second-round loss to the then UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. He lost the fight via submission after Khabib overpowered him on the ground.

Usman said that he really couldn’t help Gaethje with the Khabib fight. However, he also added that he would help him in all of his fights in the future. Their coach, Trevor Wittman, only works with three fighters, Gaethje, Usman, and Rose Namajunas.

Kamaru Usman and Justin Gaethje’s sparring tapes would go for a lot of money.

In the interview, Usman was asked whether he sparred with Gaethje, and he said yes. He also talked about selling their sparring tape and said that it would make them a ton of money. “If we uploaded our sparring that me and him have, we’ll make tons of money,” he said.

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via Imago

Usman also mentioned that he liked Gaethje’s chaotic energy a lot. It helped him prepare for real-life situations in a fight. “I never like to step into the octagon and have anything feel foreign to me. Justin does a good job of putting you into the fire, so you feel the fire,” he concluded.

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Fans would certainly pay to watch Usman and Gaethje battle it out in the gym. However, there is little to no chance that they would get to see it.

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How much will you pay to see Justin Gaethje and Usman exchange shots on the feet?

Read: WATCH: Jorge Masvidal Shows Off Beautiful New Open Air Car

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Written by:

Aniket Awasthi

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Aniket Awasthi is a UFC author at EssentiallySports. This STEM undergraduate combines an insatiable urge to write with his admiration for MMA and the UFC in general to enhance his journalism. He calls charismatic names like Chael Sonnen and 'The Count' Michael Bisping as his favorite fighters, but he is a great admirer of the rise of Israel Adesanya ever since he fought Rob Wilkinson at UFC 221.
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