"I'll never call him that again" - Daniel Cormier explains why Kamaru Usman didn't want to be referred to as 'Marty'
Daniel Cormier has shed light upon why Kamaru Usman didn’t want to be referred to as ‘Marty.’ 'DC' suggested that it was a matter of respect for Usman to be called by his given name rather than the nickname Marty.
The latest edition of The DC Check-In featured Deron Winn as one of the guests. The UFC middleweight previously competed as an amateur wrestler alongside Kamaru Usman. Winn and 'DC' noted how ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ was known as Marty in amateur wrestling circles but eventually became known as Kamaru. Daniel Cormier stated:
“You know what I love about that story, though, with Usman, is he said when he started wrestling, they didn’t want to put the effort into calling him by his full name [Kamarudeen]. So, they said, ‘Let’s just call him Marty.’ And then, he had just accepted that. But then as he became a man, he goes, ‘No. I will be called by my name. I will be called by my given name. Respect me enough to put the [effort]. He almost grew up into his name."
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Cormier then went on to state that after a conversation with Usman, he would never call him Marty again.
"And for me, that is so special. Right? You love that he grew into his name. He’s so strong now – as a champion and as a face of the UFC – that that whole story to me is.” DC continued, “Because we all called him that. That’s what you called him in wrestling because that’s what everybody else called him. But I will never call him that again because he asked me for; as a friend, as a man that I knew from wrestling, he goes, ‘Hey, man. Call me Kamaru.’”
Furthermore, Winn noted that he saved Usman’s number on his phone under his real name after having initially saved it under the name Marty.
Watch Daniel Cormier address Kamaru Usman’s refusal to be called Marty in the video below:
Dana White hails Kamaru Usman as the “best fighter in the world”
In an interview with Teddy Atlas, UFC president Dana White asserted that UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman is currently the best fighter in the world. White said:
“Right now, I think Kamaru Usman is the powerful pound-for-pound best fighter in the world. What this guy has done and what he has accomplished over the last couple of years is amazing…He is lapping these guys. He’s beating them all twice.”
Kamaru Usman is likely to defend his UFC welterweight title in a rematch against Leon Edwards, who has long been lobbying for the fight. The two men fought back in December 2015, with Usman winning the bout via unanimous decision.
The UFC is yet to officially confirm this potential rematch, but fans can expect additional details regarding it to unravel in the months to come.