"When Mike Tyson walks into the fu*king room" - Kamaru Usman recounts his first meeting with Dana White, winning him over
Former UFC welterweight king Kamaru Usman shared details of his first ever encounter with UFC CEO Dana White.
White recently made an appearance on the Pound 4 Pound podcast, which is hosted by Usman and Henry Cejudo. At one point during the episode, 'The Nigerian Nightmare' shared the story of how he met White for the first time.
Usman said that after Rashad Evans' victory against Chael Sonnen at UFC 167, he accompanied 'Suga' in a meeting with the UFC CEO. According to the former champion, Lorenzo Fertitta was also present in the room. The 36-year-old then shared what White told him and Evans that day about the sport of fighting.
"You [Dana White] said, 'You know what, Rashad, I want you to understand something about fighting, about what you do and how great it is and how big this is and how big you can get...[At] these fights, there are some of the biggest baseball players, biggest football players, biggest actors and whatnot in a room.
"But when Mike Tyson walks into the f**king room, everybody knows that Mike Tyson is in the room. Everybody knows that that fighter, that killer is in the room. There's a certain level of respect as a fighter, as a gladiator, that you get.' And I remember hearing that story and I'm just going, 'Oh s**t, this is true.'"
Check out Kamaru Usman sharing the story of his first meeting with Dana White from the 6:45 mark below:
Dana White showers praise on Kamaru Usman
UFC CEO Dana White recently appeared on the The Rush podcast with Maxx Crosby. During his time there, The 54-year-old spoke about Kamaru Usman.
White shared that according to him, 'The Nigerian Nightmare' was under-appreciated by the MMA fans. He added how the 36-year-old would never refuse to fight anybody.
"Usman was running through guys twice. You know what I mean? Usman does not get the credit he deserves... The fans or whatever... I think when Kamaru's gone, they'll appreciate him. That guy never turned down a fight, He fought everybody, you know?"
Check out Dana White's comments on Kamaru Usman from the 20:20 mark below: