Kamaru Usman discloses what advice he gives to young fighters: "This is the fun time right now"
Kamaru Usman recently disclosed what advice he shares with young fighters that are beginning their MMA careers and seek advice from him. He noted that it's important to live in the moment and be proud of where they currently are rather than thinking too far ahead.
It's understandable why fighters seek advice from 'The Nigerian Nightmare' and rely on him as a mentor. He has achieved a great deal of success throughout his MMA career and is regarded by many as one of the greatest welterweights of all time.
During his appearance on WEIGHING IN, the former UFC welterweight champion shared what advice he likes to give young aspiring fighters in the gym. Usman mentioned that although being a star is alluring, he stressed that fighters shouldn't take the beginning of their careers for granted because that's when they can learn the most. He said:
"I just tell them enjoy this. This is the fun time right now. All you get to do is come in here, you have so much time to just learn. You train with these guys, yeah, it's hard practices but that's life, it's okay. You trained with these guys and then you get to just go home...and then you come back and you train again...You are blessed right now, enjoy this moment." [7:35 - 8:09]
Check out the full episode with Kamaru Usman below:
Kamaru Usman opens up about taking time to recover from his injuries
In addition to advice he shares with young fighters, Kamaru Usman opened up about his recent layoff allowing him time to recover.
The former welterweight champion last competed against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 last October and hasn't yet been scheduled to compete this year. During the aforementioned appearance, Usman mentioned that the time off has allowed him to recover from some of his injuries and feel better physically when he returns. He said:
"Now I'm in a place where okay, with all of that [activity] comes a lot of injuries, all the things that you've been dealing with, it kind of catches up to you. Now I'm just in a position where I'm trying to heal all of that because you stack up all these injuries over time and it starts to diminish your performances where people start to forget just how good you are." [5:14 - 5:38]
Check out the intense staredown between Kamaru Usman and Khamzat Chimaev below: