Tonight, Kamaru Usman will defend his UFC welterweight championship against Colby Covington in Madison Square Garden. At a PFL event in 2018, Usman found himself with a much more unexpected opponent in MSG. The following article pu…
[MMA NEWS ARCHIVES]
Tonight, Kamaru Usman will defend his UFC welterweight championship against Colby Covington in Madison Square Garden. At a PFL event in 2018, Usman found himself with a much more unexpected opponent in MSG. The following article published three years ago covers the details, and it’s presented in its original, unalterd form, courtesy of the MMA News archives.
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JUNE 8, 2018, 10:58 AM]
Kamaru Usman and his manager got into a scuffle with a fan.
Last night (June 7), PFL 1 took place inside Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in New York City. In the main event of that card, Andre Harrison took on Jumabieke Tuerxun. Harrison won the bout via unanimous decision. This was PFL’s 2018 season opener.
Usman and Ali Abdelaziz attended the event, although they perhaps didn’t expect to be involved in a fight of their own. In the video seen below, Usman shoves a fan twice before walking away. The fan shoves him from behind and all hell breaks loose. Punches are thrown in the melee.
At this time, it’s unclear what sparked the incident. Stick with MMANews.com for more information on the incident as it becomes available.
Kamaru Usman’s moniker of “The Nigerian Nightmare” is one he carries with pride. And what would make Usman even more proud is to be a part of the UFC’s debut in the continent of Africa. When speaking in an appearance on the MMA Hour about whether Afric…
Kamaru Usman’s moniker of “The Nigerian Nightmare” is one he carries with pride. And what would make Usman even more proud is to be a part of the UFC’s debut in the continent of Africa. When speaking in an appearance on the MMA Hour about whether Africa would show interest in a UFC arrival, Usman […]
The welterweight division may just be the most exciting weight class in the UFC today.
Fronted by current titleholder Tyron Woodley, an interim championship contest is set to co-headline this weekend’s (Sat. June 9, 2018) UFC 225 pay-per-view (PPV) from Chicago, as No. 1-ranked Rafael dos Anjos takes on No. 4-ranked Colby Covington.
Aside from RDA and Covington, there are two more prominent names in the title picture as well. Young prospects Kamaru Usman and Darren Till have made strides in the division in recent months and are looking to crack into the title conversation themselves.
Usman hasn’t lost in mixed martial arts (MMA) competition since his second pro fight in 2013. Since then The Nigerian Nightmare has racked up 12-straight wins, the latest being a unanimous decision win over Demian Maia last month in Chile.
Till has just shot his way up to the No. 2 spot in the division after besting two-time welterweight title challenger Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson in Liverpool via decision last week. The win extended the Englishman’s undefeated MMA record to 17-0-1.
With the respective success of each man lately, many have been calling for Till and Usman to be paired up inside the Octagon next. Usman certainly seems to be a fan of this idea.
Appearing on The MMA Hour yesterday afternoon (Mon. June 4, 2018), Usman noted that he’d love to get his hands on Colby Covington, but realizes he’s wrapped up in an interim title situation. A fight against his fellow rising prospect Darren Till would suffice (quotes via MMA Mania):
“Now, let’s be honest everybody wants to see me fight somebody. You know who that is? They just fought. I think honestly I’m about one win away from the title, we can agree on that. One fight away from the title,” said Usman.
“Obviously everybody wants to see me beat up Colby Covington, but he is going to fight for the interim belt and should he win that fight, he will get Tyron Woodley for the title. Darren Till really the guy. He is a tough guy and I know he likes to fight and he comes to fight, but has he been tested against a guy like myself,” explained Usman.
“Everybody wants to see it, the fans, the media wants to see it. I know he’s a tough guy, good striking. I might not be the best striker, the best jiu-jitsu guy and I might not be the best wrestler; but when I put it all together I’m a bad motherfucker to deal with,” declared Kamaru. “That’s a fight I think interests the fans and that’s what I want right now. If you’re not going to give me Woodley, that’s the fight I want right now. He’s a tough guy and I like everything that he does.”
Kamaru Usman and Darren Till are probably the two brightest prospects at 170 pounds, so it’s likely an inevitability that they’ll come face-to-face inside the Octagon at some point. That meeting may come sooner than most think. Usman is fre…
Kamaru Usman and Darren Till are probably the two brightest prospects at 170 pounds, so it’s likely an inevitability that they’ll come face-to-face inside the Octagon at some point. That meeting may come sooner than most think. Usman is fresh off a decision win over Demian Maia from the UFC’s Chile event last month, while […]
With the UFC having now secured a new broadcasting deal with ESPN from 2019 onwards, Dana White recently admitted that ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ show may finally be on its way out after a 27season series run.
As such, now seems like a good time to take a look back at what has become of every single one of the long-running show’s 35 ‘Ultimate Fighter’ winners to date.
Find out what your favorite past winners of TUF are up to now:
SEASON 1
Diego Sanchez
It’s a testament to Diego Sanchez’s durability that 13 years after winning TUF season 1 he remains the only fighter from that historic series to still be actively competing in the UFC, having amassed 27 fights (16-11) to date.
However, after suffering back-to-back first-round knockouts in his last two fights, it’s possible that the 36-year-old’s memorable career is now entering its final stages, though Sanchez has assured his fans that, “I’m not done yet.”
Forrest Griffin
Arguably TUF’s most iconic winner, Griffin’s fight with Stephan Bonner in the Season 1 finale was declared as the most important fight in UFC history by Dana White, while he’d also go on to win the light-heavyweight title too.
Griffin retired in 2013 at the age of 33 due to chronic injuries, but he’s since been inducted into the UFC’s Hall of Fame and now works for the UFC as their Vice President of Athletic Development.