Who is Jose Caceres, the only fighter to defeat Kamaru Usman?
Jose Caceres is an American professional mixed martial artist. He is well known for being the only person to defeat Kamaru Usman in a professional MMA fight.
He hails from Miami, Florida and his record consists of 15 wins and 11 losses. He's also the brother of UFC veteran Alex Caceres. Caceres currently competes in Xtreme MMA (XMMA).
Jose Caceres defeated Kamaru Usman via first-round submission (rear-naked choke) at Championship Fighting Alliance 11 - Kyle vs. Wiuff.
Watch the highlights of the fight below:
The UFC welterweight champion spoke about his loss to Caceres in an interview in April. In a promotional short created by ESPN ahead of UFC 261, Usman admitted to losing his composure during the fight.
Describing the moments leading up to the submission, Usman said:
"I go in, right away. Boom boom! Hit him with the one two, change levels, took him down. I'm on the top and I'm trying to land punches and I just remember he wrapped his legs around me. I never felt like that before. And, I just remember - for the first time I panicked, I could hear his corner telling him, 'he's gonna tap!' and then I remembered the rule where they say if you're choked unconscious, it's an automatic six-month suspension so you can't compete."
Watch ESPN's promo below:
After defeating Kamaru Usman, Jose Caceres lost to Colby Covington at CFA 12
Jose Caceres snapped a three-fight skid after beating Usman. He then gained momentum by defeating Carlos Alberto Bazan Rojas via another rear-naked choke.
Caceres then fought Colby Covington, arguably Kamaru Usman's fiercest rival in the UFC. 'The Fresh Prince of Kendall' fell to Covington via unanimous decision at CFA 12 - Sampo vs. Thao.
In a Twitter exchange in 2017, Colby Covington reminded Kamaru Usman of his loss against Jose Caceres. 'Chaos' took to Twitter and said:
"Remember when Jose caceres put you out cold and then I rag dolled him? The difference is I had fractured rib in my loss."
Usman responded:
Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington eventually fought for the welterweight belt at UFC 245. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' picked up a fifth-round TKO finish on the night.
The two are set to collide in a championship rematch at UFC 268 this weekend.