Kamaru "The Nigerian Nightmare" Usman is a former UFC Welterweight Champion with a professional MMA record of 20 wins and 3 losses. Kamaru was the 2010 NCAA Divison II National champion, holding a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He won The Ultimate Fighter 21 and is currently ranked #5 in the UFC Men's Pound-for-Pound rankings.
Kamaru Usman lost his fight against Leon Edwards for a chance to reclaim his UFC Welterweight title at UFC 286 via a majority decision.
Kamaru Usman started his combat sports career as an amateur high school amateur. He earned a record of 53-3 before going to college.
During his college years, Usman became an NAIA national tournament qualifier. He failed to attend the tournament due to a snowstorm and subsequently changed his college to join the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Usman won the NAIA tournament title here and became an NCAA Division II champion with a record of 44-1.
Usman eventually transitioned into MMA and debuted in 2012 at RFA 5 against David Glover. Usman won the Fight via 2nd-round TKO(punches). Usman lost his next Fight at CFA 11 before bouncing back to amass a winning streak of 4 wins to garner a record of 5-1.
Following this, he joined the UFC in 2015 as a participant in Ultimate Fighter 21.
Kamaru Usman got his big break when he joined The Ultimate Fighter 21 as a participant, wherein he represented the Blackziliains. The Nigerian Nightmare dominated everyone on the show and went undefeated in his journey to the final, where he faced Hayder Hassan. Usman would win the Fight in the second round via submission(arm-triangle choke) to become the Ultimate fighter and get a six-figure contract from the UFC.
The Nigerian Nightmare continued his Ultimate Fighter win momentum as he defeated Leon Edwards unanimously in his UFC debut on Fox 17.
Following this, Usman would go on to have a 9-fight-win streak in the UFC in which he defeated the likes of Sean Strickland and former UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael dos Anjos.
Kamaru got a title shot for the UFC Welterweight Championship at UFC 235 against the champion Tyron Woodley. He defeated Woodley via Unanimous Decision to become the new UFC Welterweight Champion ending Woodley's 3-year title reign.
Kamaru continued his dominance in the Welterweight division as he defended the title against Colby Covington, Gilburt Burns, and twice against Jorge Masvidal. Kamaru extended his power over the division by defeating Colby Covington via unanimous decision at UFC 268 in a rematch.
However, in their rematch, his old nemesis Leon Edwards would earn his redemption and dethrone Usman as welterweight king. At UFC 278, 'The Nigerian Nightmare' lost his title to 'Rocky' via a last-minute knockout kick bringing his losses to two.
The trilogy fight between Usman and Edwards took place at UFC 286 on 18th March 2023 at the O2 Arena in London. Usman lost for the second consecutive time against Leon Edwards via a majority decision.
Kamaru Usman fought Colby Covington at UFC 245. The Fight was Usman's first title defense and featured high-paced offense throughout the 5-round war.
Usman outstruck Covington throughout the bout, except for round 4. Kamaru finished the challenger in the 5th round to secure the win via Technical Knockout. Usman and Covington earned the Fight of the Night bonus for this bout.
Kamaru Usman faced Jorge Masvidal for the second time at UFC 261 after Usman defeated Masvidal in the first Fight that Masvidal took on short notice.
Their second encounter would be a short one as Kamaru Knocked out Masvidal with a right hand to the face to win the Fight via KO/TKO and secure his 4th title defense. After the Fight, Usman earned the #1 spot in the UFC's Men's pound-for-pound ranking.
Kamaru Usman fought Colby Covington for the second time at UFC 268 for the UFC Welterweight Championship. Usman started the Fight aggressively and secured the first round with his improved striking prowess and Covington's lack of aggression.
Usman knocked down Covington in the second round and ended the round with ground-and-pound as he failed to finish the challenger. Usman went defensive in round three as Colby attempted to land heavy shots mixed with takedowns. Colby's attempts for a takedown were all unsuccessful throughout the Fight, and it was his striking that he relied on to give a competitive fight to Usman.
Usman maintained control throughout the fight and never looked to be on the back foot except for the third round. Ultimately, both fighters embraced each other as Usman won the rematch against Covington unanimously.
Usman has only lost to Leon Edwards twice in the UFC.
Kamaru Usman has only lost twice in the UFC.
Kamaru Usman pays respect to his Nigerian heritage.
He is #1 in the UFC men's welterweight rankings and #5 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.
Last Updated March 19, 2023
