August 28, 2024 8:50 am ET
Former UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman states competing Colby Covington brought the very best out of him.
Usman (20-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC) was pressed to the edge two times by Covington in their title battles however outlived him to emerge triumphant. Usman scored a late TKO of Covington in their very first battle in November 2019, then dropped him two times in their rematch en path to a consentaneous choice win at UFC 268.
It wasn’t simply Covington’s abilities that Usman had to deal with. Covington pulled no punches when developing their battle, which “The Nigerian Nightmare” values in hindsight.
“I state everything the time, and I understand individuals can’t think the truth that I would really go, ‘Credit to Colby Covington,'” Usman stated on the “Weighing In” podcast. “I utilized to hear everything the time where individuals state, ‘You require a dance partner. You require an excellent dance partner.’ And he was that.
“In that battle, because very first battle, it was a lot stress to where it challenged me a lot to prepare, to train, and to head out there and simply get locked into the zone. It was nearly addictive, that zone where I do not care what occurs.”
Usman discovers himself chirping back-and-forth with welterweight champ Belal Muhammad, which he formerly confessed has actually lit a fire under him. Presently on a three-fight losing skid, Usman discussed how self-motivation is eventually what matters most.
“That’s a fantastic thing (competitor) to have,” Usman stated. “For me, I constantly discovered really early on that I’m really self-motivated. I am. I found out really early on that it’s a battle versus myself. I constantly wish to show myself incorrect, and a great deal of these battles it was me stunning myself that, ‘Wow, I actually had the ability to do that. I actually battled the fight in my mind to do that.'”
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