Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman says rival Colby Covington introduced the perfect out of him.
Usman (20-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC) was pushed to the brink twice by Covington of their title fights however outlasted him to emerge victorious. Usman scored a late TKO of Covington of their first combat in November 2019, then dropped him twice of their rematch en path to a unanimous choice win at UFC 268.
However it wasn’t simply Covington’s abilities that Usman needed to cope with. Covington pulled no punches when build up their combat, which “The Nigerian Nightmare” appreciates in hindsight.
“I say it on a regular basis, and I do know folks can’t consider the truth that I might truly go, ‘Credit score to Colby Covington,’” Usman mentioned on the “Weighing In” podcast. “I used to listen to it on a regular basis the place folks say, ‘You want a dance accomplice. You want an ideal dance accomplice.’ And he was that.
“In that combat, in that first combat, it was a lot rigidity to the place it challenged me a lot to organize, to coach, and to go on the market and simply get locked into the zone. It was nearly addicting, that zone the place I don’t care what occurs.”
Usman finds himself chirping back-and-forth with welterweight champion Belal Muhammad, which he beforehand admitted has lit a fireplace below him. At present on a three-fight shedding skid, Usman defined how self-motivation is finally what issues most.
“That’s an ideal factor (rival) to have,” Usman mentioned. “For me, I at all times realized very early on that I’m very self-motivated. I’m. However I realized very early on that it’s a combat towards myself. I at all times need to show myself incorrect, and a variety of these fights it was me surprising myself that, ‘Wow, I actually was ready to try this. I actually fought the battle in my thoughts to try this.’”
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