"I didn't kick him while he was down" - Kamaru Usman responds to Conor McGregor's mean tweets after brutal KO and title loss at UFC 278
Kamaru Usman recently weighed in on the jibes Conor McGregor took at him after his title loss to Leon Edwards at UFC 278. Usman's five-year-old daughter Samirah had to be escorted out of the arena as she bawled inconsolably after seeing her father get brutally knocked out with the head kick.
Whilst taking digs at 'The Nigerian Nightmare', McGregor also advised fighters to avoid bringing their families to the fight arena. Reacting to McGregor's comments, Usman noted that he never mocked the Dubliner after he broke his leg during the fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.
According to Usman, cage fighting is a sport and at the end of the day shouldn't change the fact that fighters are still humans. The former UFC welterweight champion recently told Joe Rogan on the JRE podcast:
"Like he broke his leg. Even when he broke his leg, I didn't kick him when he was down. That's a very tough injury. I almost felt for him. I almost wanted to send him a message and say, 'Hey man, heal up, you'll be back'. That's just kind of who I am. This is a sport. It's a f***ing sport. At the end of the day, you're still a human being. If I saw you on the side of the road and you needed help or something was wrong, if I could I would 100% try to help."
Watch the clip below:
Catch the full JRE podcast featuring Kamaru Usman below:
Conor McGregor's comments in the aftermath of Kamaru Usman's loss to Leon Edwards
While Conor McGregor advised fighters to avoid bringing families to fights, he also claimed to feel deeply for Kamaru Usman's inconsolable daughter. According to the Dubliner, he decided to go "solo" after having treaded both paths. 'The Notorious,' wrote on Twitter:
"I feel this deep. I do not suggest bringing family whatsoever. Especially the children. This is different fighting. I’ve done both sides of this and feel going to the mission solo is best. You can see family again post battle. Will definitely be continuing this way going forward."
However, Conor McGregor did not shy away from taking digs at 'The Nigerian Nightmare' in the immediate aftermath of his brutal KO loss. The Dubliner claimed that Usman had leaned his way into the brutal head kick that put him to sleep.
Do check out this special video on weird martial art techniques: