"It was just something primal about it" - Kamaru Usman reveals his favorite fight "most people won't be able to guess"
Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman enjoyed one of the most dominant periods atop the division.
Ahead of his UFC 294 fight against Khamzat Chimaev, Usman spoke to the media and revealed his favorite fight he has been involved in:
"Most people can’t - won’t be able to guess what my favorite fight is, that I’ve been in. Can anyone guess what that fight is? It was the first Covington fight. And a lot of people would say that’s the most challenging fight I’ve had, obviously my last two fights but… That fight was extremely challenging because it was just something primal about it. I didn’t think about anything, I didn’t worry about anything. I didn’t care about anything. It was just me in there, just putting my heart and my soul into that fight."
Kamaru Usman chose his first meeting with Colby Covington at UFC 245 as his favorite fight as he felt most focused and could not be swayed inside the octagon. He also revealed that it was a thrilling sensation that he wanted to experience a few more times before calling time on his career:
"There was nothing that could’ve distracted me that night. So, when you get done with a fight like that, everyone was like, ‘Oh, you got hit a lot’ but it was the most fun fight I’ve ever had and so I realized through soul searching, it’s just that, hey you only get a few of those moments to be able to experience something like that. I want to experience it a couple more times before I walk away from this sport."
Check out Usman's comments in the press conference below [1:27]:
Khamzat Chimaev believes Kamaru Usman is in it 'just to make money'
Kamaru Usman was a last-minute replacement for Brazilian middleweight Paulo Costa against unbeaten UFC sensation Khamzat Chimaev.
However, Chimaev believes Usman accepted the fight on short notice solely to make money from the blockbuster co-main event of UFC 294. 'Borz' said in a media appearance ahead of fight night:
"The guy comes just to make money. It’s a lot of money put on that. I think he gets a lot of good money when somebody fights me. It’s different-level money. That’s why he’s here. Of course, he comes to win, everyone comes to a fight to win, but he already has an excuse and he’s getting paid, so I think that’s why he comes. That’s why he’s here, I think."
Check out his full comments below: