Kamaru Usman News

Kamaru Usman, Interim title, UFC
Tyron Woodley

Kamaru Usman doubtful Tyron Woodley is taking UFC 235 fight seriously

Tom Taylor - February 25, 2019

At UFC 235, Kamaru Usman will look to wrest the UFC welterweight belt from the waist of long-time champion Tyron Woodley. Heading into this fight, the pair have exchanged quite a bit of trash talk — most notably at the recent UFC 235 pre-fight press conference. At this event, they engaged in a lengthy back-and-forth, throughout which Woodley seemed entirely free of worry, cracking jokes and comparing Usman to rapper LL Cool J.

Colby Covington
Kamaru Usman

Colby Covington thinks Tyron Woodley will “starch” Kamaru Usman at UFC 235

James Lynch - February 23, 2019

UFC 235 takes place next Saturday (Mar. 2nd) and Colby Covington doesn’t see the welterweight title fight being very competitive. The outspoken American Top Team member weighed in with Submission Radio about champion Tyron Woodley defending his title against Kamaru Usman and believes fans could be in for a lackluster fight.

Ben Askren
Kamaru Usman

Ben Askren rips Kamaru Usman after backstage confrontation

Tom Taylor - February 5, 2019

At the UFC 235 press conference, former ONE and Bellator welterweight champ Ben Askren divulged that he and top welterweight contender Kamaru Usman very nearly came to blows backstage. Days after the press conference wrapped up, Will Harris of Anatomy of a Fighter released footage of this backstage confrontation.

Demian Maia, Tyron Woodley, Kamaru Usman
Kamaru Usman

Demian Maia makes prediction for Tyron Woodley vs. Kamaru Usman title fight

Tom Taylor - February 5, 2019

On March 2, in the co-main event of UFC 235, UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley will attempt a fifth-straight defense of his title opposite surging contender Kamaru Usman. Having fought both Tyron Woodley and Kamaru Usman in the recent past, Brazilian MMA legend Demian Maia has unique insight into this matchup.

Colby Covington
Kamaru Usman

Colby Covington shares bold prediction for UFC 235's Tyron Woodley vs. Kamaru Usman fight

Chris Taylor - January 12, 2019

Colby Covington is not happy that Kamaru Usman will be fighting Tyron Woodley for the promotions undisputed welterweight title at UFC 235 on March 2. With that said, Covington remains confident that a future grudge match with “The Chosen One” will eventually come to fruition, this after Woodley “smokes” Usman in Las Vegas.

Tyron Woodley, Dana White Israel Adesanya, Leon Edwards
Kamaru Usman

Tyron Woodley hopes to fight Colby Covington right after Kamaru Usman bout

Tom Taylor - January 8, 2019

UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley is scheduled to defend his title at UFC 235 on March 2 in Las Vegas — against Kamaru Usman, not against Colby Covington as originally expected. While Woodley is now focused on this UFC 235 fight with Usman, and Covington is now at odds with the UFC, Woodley says he hopes to fight Covington almost immediately after he has dealt with Usman in March.

Tyron Woodley
Tyron Woodley

Tyron Woodley opens as slight betting favorite over Kamaru Usman

Tom Taylor - January 7, 2019

The opening odds for Tyron Woodley and Kamaru Usman’s UFC 235 welterweight title fight have now been released — and they’re very close. According to the website BestFightOdds.com, the online sportsbook 5dimes has pegged Tyron Woodley as a -170 favorite, meaning a successful $170 bet on him would earn you $100. Kamaru Usman, meanwhile, has been identified as a +130 underdog by the same sportsbook, meaning a successful $100 bet on him would win you $130.

Tyron Woodley, Kamaru Usman
Tyron Woodley

Report | Tyron Woodley vs. Kamaru Usman signed for UFC 235 co-main event

Tom Taylor - January 6, 2019

After weeks of speculation, a welterweight title fight between champ Tyron Woodley and challenger Kamaru Usman is reportedly a done deal for UFC 235 on March 2, per ESPN’s Ariel Helwani. The fight is slated to serve as the card’s co-main event, co-headlining under a light heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Anthony Smith, provided Jones is able to achieve licensure in Nevada.

Kamaru Usman, UFC 251
Tyron Woodley

BREAKING | Kamaru Usman says welterweight title fight is 'a done deal'

Thomas Taylor - January 2, 2019

From the sounds of it, Kamaru Usman will get the next crack at UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. Speaking on Twitter on Thursday evening, the surging UFC welterweight contender announced that his next fight is “a done deal” — and it sure seems like he’s talking about a title fight.

Kamaru Usman, UFC 251
Tyron Woodley

Dana White says Kamaru Usman will fight for title, but it might not be against Tyron Woodley

Thomas Taylor - December 26, 2018

Earlier today, on an episode of MMAjunkie Radio, manager Ali Abdelaziz claimed that streaking welterweight contender Kamaru Usman will “100%” get the next crack at UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, apparently at UFC 235 on March 2 in Las Vegas. Shortly thereafter, UFC President Dana White confirmed to MMAjunkie that Kamaru Usman will fight for the welterweight title next — but it might not be against Tyron Woodley. The UFC boss says Usman will fight for the welterweight title with our without Woodley.

Kamaru Usman, Canelo
Tyron Woodley

Manager claims Kamaru Usman is '100%' fighting Tyron Woodley for welterweight title in March

Tom Taylor - December 26, 2018

According to manager Ali Abdelaziz, streaking welterweight contender Kamaru Usman will “100%” get the next shot at UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. The fight will apparently occur at UFC 235, which goes down on March 2 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Abdelaziz made this claim on a Wednesday episode of MMAjunkie Radio.

Tyron Woodley
Kamaru Usman

Tyron Woodley requests that the UFC do him one favor before fighting Kamaru Usman

Chris Taylor - December 22, 2018

Current UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is still waiting for the promotion to officially book his next title defense. Despite perennial division contender Kamaru Usman recently posting a signed bout agreement, a fight between “The Chosen One” and “The Nigerian Nightmare” has yet to be made official by the UFC.

Ben-Askren-Kamaru-Usman
UFC

Kamaru Usman says he would 'flatline' Ben Askren

Drake Riggs - December 11, 2018

The welterweight division is one of the deepest and best that MMA has to offer. Yet in the UFC, things are looking somewhat complicated at the top right now. With Kamaru Usman’s emergence as a top title threat and the long-awaited arrival of Ben Askren, the two have been making more noise than the champion Tyron Woodley and interim champion Colby Covington.

Kamaru Usman, Colby Covington, Ben Askren
Colby Covington

Three potential options to headline UFC 233

Cole Shelton - December 11, 2018

UFC 233, the first pay-per-view of 2019, is just over a month away and it still doesn’t have a main event. That was not initially the case, as a flyweight title fight between TJ Dillashaw and Henry Cejudo was originally supposed to headline the card. However, when that fight was moved up a week to headline the first ESPN card in Brooklyn, UFC 233 was left without a main event. Now, with the majority of champions booked, injured or recovering from recent fights, the UFC finds itself in a tough situation. There are not a lot of viable options left available for the UFC 233 main event — especially if the promotion wants to compete with Bellator 214, which will be headlined by a heavyweight title fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Ryan Bader, and airs the same night.

Ben Askren
Colby Covington

Ben Askren accuses Kamaru Usman of acting just like Colby Covington

Tom Taylor - December 10, 2018

Kamaru Usman has been angling for a fight with Colby Covington for some time, admitting that he might even prefer the matchup to a fight with UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. Unfortunately for Usman, Covington is likely to battle Woodley next, which means Usman will have to look elsewhere for his next opponent. Former ONE and Bellator welterweight champ Ben Askren is hoping to make that search easy for him. Askren, who is currently booked to fight Robbie Lawler at UFC 233 on January 26, recently offered to battle Usman on the card instead.

Kamaru Usman, Colby Covington, Ben Askren
UFC

VIDEO | Kamaru Usman says UFC offered him Colby Covington fight in January

Cole Shelton - December 5, 2018

“I’m going to go out there and knock out Colby Covington. That right now is the fight. The UFC just called and they offered us that fight, they said Colby Covington in January. You know what I am going to do, of course, I have accepted. For the fifth time, I have accepted the fight. Right now we are just waiting on him.”

Kamaru Usman, Colby Covington, Ben Askren
Kamaru Usman

Kamaru Usman considers Colby Covington a "bigger fight" than Tyron Woodley

Tom Taylor - December 4, 2018

When Kamaru Usman defeated Rafael dos Anjos at The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale last Friday night, he asserted himself as one of the uppermost contenders in the crowded UFC welterweight division. In fact, UFC President Dana White suggested Usman might have even surpassed Colby Covington and earned himself a title fight with long-time welterweight champ Tyron Woodley. Interestingly, however, Kamaru Usman seems to relish the opportunity to settle his beef with Colby Covington even more than he wants to fight Woodley for the title.

Kamaru Usman, Colby Covington, Ben Askren
Kamaru Usman

Michael Bisping makes a request of Kamaru Usman following his win over Rafael dos Anjos

Chris Taylor - December 1, 2018

Kamaru Usman (14-1 MMA) extended his current win streak to thirteen in a row at last night’s TUF 28 Finale event, deafeating Rafael dos Anjos via nanimous decision. “The Nigerian Nightmare” was able to smother the former lightweight champion for the better part of twenty-five minutes last night in Las Vegas. Usman’s performance garnered a ton of praise from fellow fighters and the MMA community as a whole.