“He doesn’t get credit he deserves!” Dana White heaps huge praise on Kamaru Usman as former champ goes unappreciated by fans

Dana White speaks highly of Kamaru Usman despite three-fight losing skid.

“He doesn’t get credit he deserves!” Dana White heaps huge praise on Kamaru Usman as former champ goes unappreciated by fans

Dana White praises Kamaru Usman on his title reign (via imago)

Kamaru Usman is one of the most dominant champions in the welterweight division. He won the title against Tyron Woodley in UFC 235 and only lost it at UFC 278. In the meantime, he defended the title five times. However, the fans had a mixed opinion of Usman as a champion. They weren’t welcoming of him and constantly criticized him for various reasons. Now, UFC CEO Dana White showered flowers on The Nigerian Nightmare’s championship run.

In his recent appearance on Maxx Crosby’s podcast, Dana White praised the championship reign of Kamaru Usman. He stated that ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ fought the toughest opponents, sometimes twice, and never turned down a fight. Here is what he said:

(Kamaru) Usman doesn’t get the credit he deserves. I don’t know what it is, the fans or whatever. I think Kamaru is gone then they would appreciate it. That guy never turned a fight. He fought everybody and started running through guys twice…Usman was a bad boy.

Dana White (via The Rush Podcast)
YouTube video

Dana White even mentioned Kamaru Usman fighting Colby Covington twice to prove he took the toughest fights. That was one of the intense rivalries in the welterweight division. As such, Kamaru Usman reigned as the champion for nearly three years and racked up five title defenses. He defended the title twice against ‘Chaos’ and Jorge Masvidal and once against Gilbert Burns.

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However, Kamaru Usman lost his championship to Leon Edwards in 2022. Further, he lost the rematch in an attempt to reclaim the 170lbs throne. He briefly moved up to middleweight to fight Khamzat Chimaev and lost that too. As such, the former champion found himself in a tough spot. However, Dana White regarded him highly and didn’t let these losses flounder Usman’s title run.

Kamaru Usman speaks about the difficulty of being a champion

Kamaru Usman did not have a fan following during his title reign. However, he found some support from the fans recently. Fans recognized the stature of ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ for his octagon activity and championship dominance only after three consecutive losses. Now, Usman revealed the difficulties of staying at the top of the division.

Kamaru Usman reveals the difficulty of being a champion
Kamaru Usman reveals the difficulty of being a champion (via Sky Sports)

In his appearance on the PBD podcast, Kamaru Usman unveiled champions pushing their limit every day. He stated the fans only saw 25 minutes of their work and didn’t acknowledge the months of training behind it. He disclosed the top fighters trained twice to thrice a day, which broke their bodies. As such, the former champion claimed the training was more difficult, and fighting was just the ‘fun part.’

Kamaru Usman was the welterweight champion from March 2019 to August 2022. Currently, he suffered three back-to-back losses and was wondering about his next move. He was still ranked #1 in the 170lbs division and eyed a matchup with top contenders. But, with his last bout taking place in middleweight, questions remained about his next fight’s weight class and the future of Usman.

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