Usman is not happy about his occasional training partner talking trash online.
Kamaru Usman is not impressed with the way Shavkat Rakhmonov has been trying to hype up a potential fight between the two.
Rakhmonov has been climbing to the top of the welterweight rankings over the past few years, slowed down by injuries and an inability to get opponents to sign on the dotted line. Now he’s looking for a fight that will launch him into the No. 1 contender spot at 170, and he clearly thinks Usman would do that.
Kamaru’s problem? Shavkat posted a meme showing “The Nigerian Nightmare” and other top contenders hiding under a rock. Training footage of the two also got out which appeared to show “Nomad” getting the best of Usman.
In a new episode of Pound 4 Pound, the former welterweight champion addressed the situation.
“First and foremost, I’m not even in the game right now, Okay? So I’m not even worried,” Usman said. “That’s the least of my — I’m not even worried about any of that.”
“I stepped in there on nine days’ notice and fought possibly the most dangerous guy in the UFC at that time, Khamzat Chimaev,” he added. “So what are you saying? There’s nothing to say … You don’t become champion and defend over and over and over and over because you’re scared to fight somebody. Like, shut up.”
“He tweeted a picture of me, Leon, and Colby [Covington] under a rock or something. I’m gonna save that photo. This is one of those things, because he does come down here in South Florida to train at a gym that I’ve been training at, before he was even hanging. Don’t pull me down because now the competitor in me is gonna come out and I’m gonna start talking s—.”
— Shavkat “Nomad” Rakhmonov (@Rakhmonov1994) June 10, 2024
Usman claimed the footage with Shavkat in the gym was him teaching the Kazakh fighter a move, not getting dominated.
“I’ve been in this gym training and helping my guys get to the top while I got to the top,” he said. “It is what it is … I understand he’s young and he’s a hungry contender and whatnot. But there’s a thing called respect, and you show respect in order for you to get the respect. When it’s time for me to come out and dance, I step in that octagon and I dance all over motherf—ers.”
Given Usman’s initial statement, it may be a while before it’s time for him to dance at all. But when he does, he have plenty of options, and Shavkat is definitely one of them.