"I gotta get my own insurance" - Kamaru Usman explains the structure of UFC fighter health insurance to NFL veterans Brandon Marshall and Adam Jones
Kamaru Usman recently appeared on a podcast and revealed that the UFC does not provide a solid health insurance plan for its fighters.
The violent and unforgiving nature of MMA renders injuries inevitable. It may then come as a surprise to fans that the UFC does not provide its fighters with a comprehensive health insurance package.
Usman recently appeared on the I AM ATHLETE podcast, hosted by former NFL players Brandon Marshall and Adam Jones. In the NFL, players and their families are fully taken care of. So when 'The Nigerian Nightmare' was asked about the health insurance provided by the UFC, his response was all the more surprising. Usman said:
"We don't have insurance like that, I've got to get my own insurance."
Usman discusses the issue at the 57:10 mark in the video below :
Kamaru Usman was also asked whether or not conversations are being had with the UFC management, by himself and other MMA superstars, in order to put in place a more beneficial health insurance policy. Usman cited a lack of camaraderie amongst the UFC fraternity and said:
"Some of us do, but this is the difference. Of course I played team sports, I played on football teams, basketball teams. There is something to be said when you can understand being on a team, like you guys. To where you could collectively know that if I don't do my job, I'm cheating everybody else. So this is for the greater good of everybody else. I understood that because I did play team sport for a while. A lot of fighters don't get that."
Kamaru Usman is serious about moving up to light heavyweight
Kamaru Usman recently appeared on The Pat McAfee Show, and spoke about his aspirations to win a UFC title at light heavyweight.
With his friend and fellow-countryman Israel Adesanya occupying the middleweight throne, Usman is contemplating a move to light heavyweight to achieve double champ status. He said:
"It's crazy that people think I'm joking when I said this. They really think that I'm joking. Let's be clear, let's be honest. I'm not saying I'm going to run through everybody in the light heavyweight division. I just feel like the top 3 or top 2 guys in that division, I feel like I can beat."
Watch the interview below:
Kamaru Usman faces a familiar foe in Leon Edwards when he defends his welterweight title in a few weeks time. With a win, Usman would have cleared out most of the welterweight division.