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Kamaru Usman, a person of the fiercest guys on the world, is information with the level of fame he has obtained in this bloody activity of combined martial arts.
In his career of violently battering other fighters, Usman reported he does not want to reach an upper echelon of movie star. If he does, it might inhibit him from driving down water slides and amusement points of interest with his daughter.
For about a single moment, Usman (19-1), the Greatest Preventing Championship’s welterweight winner, considered out loud about irrespective of whether he would get pleasure from elevated stardom. In mixed martial arts circles, he is revered as a single of the best. Given that getting to be the 170-pound champion in 2019, he has defended the belt 4 instances — 3 of people fights ending by knockout. But his résumé has not created the mainstream stardom Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey acquired. He is Ok with that.
Previous yr, Usman reported he took his 7-calendar year-previous daughter, Samirah, to a h2o park, and he appreciated that relatively handful of folks interrupted him for selfies and autographs. Even now, all through other circumstances, Usman claimed enthusiasts in diverse towns in the previous eight months approached him at dining establishments, so a lot so that his daughter questioned, “‘Daddy, why do folks want to just take pictures with you?’”
This center tier of recognition, Usman reported, is the place he would like to keep.
“I wrestle with that every single day,” Usman mentioned in an job interview. “I recognize this amount of fame and I fully grasp that there are degrees earlier mentioned this. I do not imagine I want to arrive at sure amounts.”
On Saturday, he may possibly not have a option. A stellar performance in opposition to rival Colby Covington (16-2) at U.F.C. 268 at Madison Sq. Garden will undeniably thrust him further more into the spotlight, and possibly set up Usman’s preferred crossover function with boxer Saúl Álvarez, who also fights Saturday on a pay-for every-watch card in Las Vegas.
Usman and Covington headline a stacked card with a further championship bout, the women’s strawweight winner Rose Namajunas facing Zhang Weili, and a lightweight No. 1 contender struggle with Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler. It is the U.F.C.’s initially party in New York considering that the Covid-19 pandemic started and is stuffed with fights that will affect numerous divisions.
Usman and Covington fought in December 2019, in Usman’s to start with title protection just after stripping the belt from Tyron Woodley. It was a competitive back-and-forth struggle rife with subjective controversies. The referee, Marc Goddard, briefly stopped the battle twice — at the time in the second round and the moment in the third — for a shot in the vicinity of Usman’s groin and an eye poke that Covington promises Usman exaggerated. At the stop of the third round, Usman landed a difficult punch to Covington’s jaw. Covington fought by way of the harm for two far more rounds.
Usman in the fifth spherical threw a straight appropriate that despatched Covington to the canvas. He acquired up rapidly, but Usman followed with a different effective punch that once more pressured Covington to the floor. As Usman laid sprawled on Covington and delivered punches to his head, Goddard finished the struggle, a stoppage Covington disagreed with since he explained he was nevertheless defending himself.
“He understands who daddy is, he appreciates who truly received that fight,” Covington stated at a news conference, an function where by he significantly drew a large and loud enthusiast foundation. “If he didn’t faux timeouts in the very first combat, I would have wrecked him.”
The buildup to their previous fight was hostile, and the feelings intensified since. Right after Covington concluded Woodley via specialized knockout in September 2020, the Usman and Covington participated in a heated television job interview.
“I broke your experience,” Usman reported.
“Wait right up until I see you next time,” Covington screamed. “You’re lifeless.”
Covington latched himself on to the former President Donald J. Trump, and continually wears “Make The united states Good Again” hats. Trump known as him right after his struggle with Woodley to congratulate him, and the fighter insulted the Black Lives Make a difference movement at a news meeting. Covington also took a photograph with Trump in the Oval Business office. Covington has said his theatrics and political leanings has designed him a a lot more fascinating fighter than Usman. Usman disagrees.
“I know the persona and the facade that he places out to the rest of the world and that is not my lane,” Usman mentioned.
“Even Trump does not definitely rock with him like that,” he included. “He is aware of who the real winner is. I warranty you Trump likes me a lot more as a fighter than he likes that guy.”
Usman a short while ago became the U.F.C.’s top-rated pound-for-pound fighter, a distinction he earned soon after the Las Vegas police arrested Jon Jones in September just after a domestic violence incident. Jones, the former light-heavyweight winner, had not fought in additional than a calendar year partly due to the fact of a disagreement with his deal as he transitioned to heavyweight.
It reinforced a difficulty the U.F.C. frequently experiences with retaining dependable, marketable stars for mainstream audiences. McGregor, the flashy Irishman and the highest-grossing fighter in U.F.C. history, has dropped 3 of his very last four fights considering the fact that 2018, and has confronted legal problems in the United States and Ireland, including a lawsuit in Eire alleging he sexually assaulted a woman.
Rousey, regarded a pioneer for women’s mixed martial arts, retired from the activity after only two losses, defeats that plainly drained her self esteem. Usman explained he respects the capability to be a U.F.C. winner and a face of the firm, but would rather carry on in his current advertising status.
“Every time you hear about Conor, it is ‘Conor did this to this person, Conor did that, Conor is having sued,’” Usman mentioned. “It’s a double-edged sword. It gets to a certain stage where by it’s way too considerably, and I never assume I want to be in that location.”
Usman reported he would upcoming like to fight the boxer Saúl Álvarez, known as Canelo, if he defeats Covington for the reason that it would be a enthusiast-favored fight. None of the other welterweight contenders enticed him, he claimed, and a crossover function with Álvarez, the prime pound-for-pound fighter in boxing, would align with the continued blurred traces of combat athletics. Álvarez if preventing Caleb Plant in Las Vegas on Saturday night time.
If that crossover bout does not transpire, Usman would just like to go to a lot more h2o parks.
“No a single else genuinely motivates me to get up at 6 a.m. and teach — I’d rather just commit time with my daughter,” Usman explained. “Have you at any time observed the two best pound-for-pound fighters in their athletics contend at their primes? Which is inspiration correct there.”
