"How disrespectful are MMA fans?" - Kamaru Usman calls out haters over "washed" comments
While Kamaru Usman has a legendary career in mixed martial arts, he has lost his past three bouts. The losing streak has led to claims that the long-time welterweight champion is washed. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' responded to those comments during a recent appearance on the Weighing In Podcast.
Speaking to hosts 'Big' John McCarthy and John Thomson, he revealed that he put aside everything he was dealing with to entertain fans - noting that Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski have done the same - before adding:
"We do these things - we jump in and go and go and go to try to entertain the masses. Of course, we reap the benefits of that. We get the checks that come with that. But now, I'm in a place where, okay, with all of that comes a lot of injuries. All the things that you had been dealing with, it kind of catches up to you and now I'm just in a position to where I'm trying to heal all of that."
Usman continued:
"You stack up all these injuries over time and it starts to diminish your performances to where people start to forget just how good you are, just how much time you've spent building your career doing the things that made you successful to where they start to [say], 'oh, he's washed'. How disrespectful are MMA fans?"
Check out Kamaru Usman's full comments below:
Usman noted that fans were labeling Jones as washed before he returned and quickly defeated Ciryl Gane. It is unclear what is next for the former welterweight champion, however, he has been exchanging words with Belal Muhammad leading to speculation that he could be angling for a title opportunity.
Kamaru Usman offers rare praise to Colby Covington
Kamaru Usman engaged in a heated rivalry with Colby Covington. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' put his welterweight title on the line against 'Chaos' at UFC 245 and UFC 268. Speaking to 'Big' John McCarthy and Josh Thomson of the Weighing In Podcast, he offered rare praise to his rival, stating:
"I know people can't believe the fact that I would actually give credit to Colby Covington, because I'm used to hearing all the time where people say, 'you need a dance partner, you need a great dance partner', and he was that to where 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, you get locked into this zone where it's almost addictive. That zone where it's just like I don't care what happens."
Check out Kamaru Usman's comments on Colby Covington below:
Usman defeated Covington via fifth-round TKO when the two first clashed in December 2019. Two years later, he once again got the best of his rival, winning via unanimous decision.