Fighter on Fighter: Breaking Down ‘Nigerian Nightmare!’

Perhaps the most dominant fighter on the roster, Kamaru Usman, will rematch knockout artist, Jorge Masvidal, this Saturday (April 24, 2021) at UFC 261 inside Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.

It’s been little more than two years since Usman dominated Tyron Woodley to score the Welterweight title, as well as his 10th straight UFC victory. He’s already set the Welterweight record for consecutive victories and is now looking for his fourth title defense — the man has built one hell of a legacy in a rather short time. Now, Usman wants to set the record straight vs. Masvidal. A short-notice booking affects both athletes, and the champion believes he can pulverize “Gamebred,” rather than merely control him. Let’s take a closer look at his skill set:

Striking

Usman has been training under an excellent kickboxer and coach in Henri Hooft for many years. However, ahead of his match up with former team mate Gilbert Burns, Usman began working with the renowned Trevor Wittman as well, and the early results are quite promising.

Usman’s jab is the most notable improvement. On the whole, Wittman does a very good job of helping his athletes master distance control, and for Usman, this meant a renewed focus on the jab in his own fairly unique way.

In Masvidal’s fighter breakdown (read it here), I wrote, “Being effective with the jab is largely about variety: Masvidal will stick opponents with a hard, snapping jab, shoot out a fast jab without committing his legs, double up, jab to the body, and most importantly, feint one variation before throwing another.” That’s all well and good, but Usman is a lifelong wrestler with seemingly impossibly stiff muscles. He’s had the rare fluid, feint-heavy performances (i.e. vs. Sean Strickland), but lightning quick jabs to multiple targets are unlikely to ever be his specialty.

Fortunately, Usman does have a gigantic wingspan and muscles popping from every section of his upper body. He may have ultimately been throwing jabs mostly with his arm at Gilbert Burns, but they were thudding jabs all the same. From either stance, Usman shot out his fist direct from his shoulder to the chin, and these jabs really ruined Burns’ night (GIF). Usman punished Burns from long range with this power jab, a distance where Burns’ hooks and overhand were unlikely to reach their target. When Burns instead tried to fire kicks, Usman interrupted them with hard jabs, taking full advantage of Burns’ habit of really committing his weight forward as he kicks (GIF).

Establishing the jab so effectively kept Usman in control of exchanges and allowed him to set up further offense, like this lovely pull counter (GIF).

Against a Southpaw in Covington, Usman willingly fought a high-volume kickboxing match. It was extremely close overall, but Usman’s body work was a major factor in his victory. From early in the fight, Usman was jamming hard right hands into the solar plexus. In addition, his snap kick to the body landed well.

By the fifth round, Usman really found the timing and distance on his right hand. Earlier in the fight, Covington did well to jab, dip off the center line, and land as Usman tried to fire back. That combination of Usman’s body work and general fatigue left Covington a bit slower, however, and Usman capitalized by shuffling into range before unleashing his accurate cross (GIF).

Usman’s kickboxing varies quite a bit from fight-to-fight, partially because of his development and in part because of Usman’s mentality. In back-to-back fights opposite Sean Strickland and Sergio Moraes, Usman’s attack was very different. Usman was extremely loose against Strickland, resulting in a lot of stinging punches with the occasional haymaker, whereas he rushed things against Moraes. The result was a more tense Usman who ate some extra counter shots, but it did produce a ridiculous one-punch knockout once he loosened up a bit.

While more relaxed, Usman is a pretty dangerous kickboxer from either stance. In fact, he switches well enough that I genuinely am not sure which of his hands is dominant. Regardless, Usman applies consistent forward pressure and attacks with single strikes and short combinations.

Even prior to working with Wittman, Usman was jabbing in an attempt to make full use of his 76-inch reach. In Orthodox, his goal is generally to snap his opponent’s head back and establish range. As a Southpaw, however, it’s more common for Usman to flick the jab, slip his head off the center line to avoid the counter and find a home for his left. The cross is a major weapon for Usman from either stance, and again it’s a difference or power vs. loose precision. Fighting right-handed, Usman will fully commit to the cross nearly every time and try to blast his opponent (GIF). As a Southpaw, Usman is far more likely to pitch the left hand smoothly, and he’s also more likely to follow up with a second cross or right hook.

Usman does a great job of shifting between stances with the cross. For example, he can throw a cross as an Orthodox and step into Southpaw, allowing him to follow up with lead hand right hooks as his opponent circles away. Against Moraes, Usman used the established threat of the left cross to shift back right-handed, taking a new angle while Moraes covered up. From this angle, Usman dropped a right-handed cross straight to the jaw (GIF).

Another layer to Usman’s offense is his ability to use level change feints. Usman doesn’t just squat down, he reaches for the leg in a very convincing feint of a snatch single. Opposite Strickland, Usman repeatedly used level-change feints from the Southpaw stance to great effect. Strickland is a right-handed fighter, and the open stance dynamic meant that his lead leg was vulnerable to the snatch single. Usman would reach out for the single frequently, instead coming up with a left cross or right uppercut-left high kick. It was seriously effective, and having to guess whether to defend a takedown or punch really stymied Strickland’s own offense.

Usman is a fairly smart kicker as well. He mostly relies on his hands, but Usman is active in attacking his foe’s lead leg. Usman tends to set the low kick up with feints rather than combinations, helping himself out by mixing targets to the thigh and calf. He’ll also suddenly go Southpaw and punt the inside of the leg. Similarly, Usman will shift Southpaw and kick to the body, a very effective strategy.

In his bout with Tyron Woodley, Usman’s goal was to close the distance, and he did a lot correctly to accomplish that mission. He fought from the Orthodox stance, keeping his left shoulder to his chin and left arm extended, fully prepared to intercept Woodley’s overhand. As he pursued, Usman stayed behind his shoulder and jabbed, walking Woodley toward the fence.

Once in the clinch, Usman went to work. At times, he was able to pull a hand down and fold over hard elbow strikes, but it was often even more simple than that. Usman found his best success by pushing off and unloading combinations while Woodley’s back was still to the fence, and he did a lot of damage simply by hammering the ribs from the over-under position (GIF).

Usman’s clinch work was a major theme against Masvidal as well. Though he received a lot of Internet hate for excessive foot stomping, Usman also did real damage. His uppercuts into the mid-section looked painful similar to the Woodley fight, and he found a home for heavy elbows as well. At one point, he landed a slick setup from the over-under, using his underhook hand to reach across the body and control Masvidal’s wrist. This freed up a path for Usman’s overhand side to elbow “Gamebred” clear in the face.

Wrestling

A multiple time All-American and national champion at the Division II level, Usman also accrued experience as a Freestyle wrestler after college. More than any one technique, both as an athlete and wrestler, Usman is a devastating combination of great physical strength and relentless conditioning.

Because of his ability to switch stances, Usman is very slick at blinding his opponent with straight shots and setting up a high-crotch takedown entry on the lead leg. Once in on the leg, Usman will threaten a dump takedown. When his opponent shifts his weight back, Usman is able to instead catch the far leg and lift to complete a double leg.

Although shooting with his head to the outside does leave him more at risk of landing in a guillotine, it also has the benefit of making it easier to cut an angle and take the back if his opponent defends the shot. In his bout with Emil Meek, Usman reminded the world that his mat returns from that position are excellent.

Usman has the physical strength to lift and slam any opponent that isn’t properly defending easily, but he’ll also mix inside trips into his offense. Generally, if his opponent is able to defend the inside trip, the slam will be available, and the inverse is true as well (GIF). This proved true from the front of the body as well opposite Woodley, as Usman stepped outside of his knee while attempting a body lock takedown, scoring a big slam when Woodley attempted to turn and face him again.

Usman’s takedown defense was seriously tested opposite Demian Maia. In one exchange, Maia shot for a high-crotch single and achieved solid position. From there, he switched to the double leg, but Usman got his hips back. Maia attempted to transition both to trip out the far leg and to score a body lock throw, but both times Usman was able to defend, either by switching his hips or applying pressure from the whizzer.

It was fantastic defense.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Usman’s top game is almost entirely wrestling, pinning wrists and battering opponents largely from either the guard or turtle. That said, he does work to pass into mount and will attack with submissions if his opponent presents the opportunity — such as when he tried to kimura Strickland from half guard.

The sole submission win of Usman’s career named him The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 21 champion. Opposite Hayder Hassan, Usman’s dominant takedowns and ground striking were overwhelming his American Top Team foe. Hassan tried to latch onto Usman’s head to control him, but Usman passed into mount, creating the perfect situation for an arm triangle. Once Usman’s hands were locked, it was easy for someone of Usman’s strength to drop his weight and finish the hold.

Against Maia, Usman nearly fell victim to Maia’s high-crotch to back clinch to back take transition in the first round. It’s a fantastic sequence, one even Tyron Woodley was forced to grab the fence to fully avoid. However, Usman countered by somehow maintaining an overhook even as Maia climbed to his back. It was an interesting display of flexibility, strength and technique, and he managed to stall out the Brazilian.

Conclusion

Usman is such a brutal physical force at 170 pounds that he was able to dominate a large portion of the division with fairly rudimentary kickboxing, but he’s been continually improving all along. That’s starting to pay off in finishes over elite contenders like Covington and Burns, and “The Nigerian Nightmare” is showing no signs of slowing down just yet.

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Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 261 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN2/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 261: “Usman vs. Masvidal 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

Andrew Richardson, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt, is a professional fighter who trains at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, California. In addition to learning alongside world-class talent, Andrew has scouted opponents and developed winning strategies for several of the sport’s most elite fighters.