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For most of his UFC career, Kamaru Usman has been the betting favorite – and for good reason. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' has often dominated his opponents and has never been defeated in the octagon.
But in one rare instance, Usman was seen as the underdog. Heading into his first title fight against then-UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, Usman closed as a +170 underdog, leaving Woodley as the -190 favorite.
To put that into perspective, oddsmakers only gave Kamaru Usman a 37% chance of dethroning Woodley. That means those who placed $100 bets on Usman got a payout of $170.
Come fight night, Kamaru Usman shattered the odds when he dominated Woodley from start to finish. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' smothered Woodley with his wrestling and repeatedly took him down throughout the 25 minutes of action. Usman's domination came as a surprise to many, given Woodley is also regarded as a high-level wrestler.
After five lopsided rounds, Usman secured a unanimous decision victory (50-44, 50-45, 50-44) to become the new UFC welterweight champion. He went on to successfully defend his crown against Colby Covington, Gilbert Burns and Jorge Masvidal on two separate occasions.
Kamaru Usman gears up for Colby Covington rematch
Next month, Kamaru Usman will defend his welterweight crown against Colby Covington in the main event of UFC 268. It will be a rematch of their go-round at UFC 245, which saw Usman retain his belt by TKO victory in the fifth round.
It's no secret that there's real life animosity between Usman and Covington. The pair of rivals have made unsavory comments about each other in their interviews and social media posts. However, Usman claimed that he's not one to "hate" his opponents based on his personal feelings.
The top pound-for-pound UFC fighter praised his arch nemesis in a recent interview with Helen Yee. He said:
“He’s definitely up there. I’m no hater, I give props where props are due. I think Colby probably is, I would put him in the top-15 welterweights of all time, as far as fighter-wise and skill-wise, the way that he fights. You may not like him personally, which I really don’t, but as far as skill-wise, he’s a good fighter. A very, very good fighter.”
