Kamaru Usman is widely considered the greatest pound for pound fighter alive. Does he want to go out on top? If his comments at the UFC 268 press conference are to be believed, that may well be the case.
“I want to be that champion who does it all. I want to do it on my own time, like Khabib. I know a lot of people have been throwing a lot of shade, saying a lot of things about Khabib leaving when he wanted to leave. That’s how you do it. Even Georges St-Pierre, that’s how you do it.
Is Kamaru Usman About to Retire?
You leave when you want to. You don’t let the sport retire you. So yeah when I feel like that time’s there, it’s time for me to go.” Usman reflected on his career success up to this point. “Let’s be honest, I’ve kind of done what there is to do in MMA, in UFC.
This Saturday live on ESPN pay-per-view at Madison Square Garden, what’s bigger than that? I’ve headlined pay-per-views before. The first event back with fans and look how that looked, how that pay-per-view went. Fought Colby the first time, T-Mobile Arena, headlined that. Went all the way to Abu Dhabi, headlined that in Fight Island 1. What is there to do in the sport? I’ve done it all.
Talk about legacy, look what I’ve done to this point. When I’m done and I walk away, guys are going to look back and say wow, he was special. Just like we’ve done with some of the greats. So if I’m looking at legacy, I want to do something that’s never been done before.
These guys don’t really scare me anymore.” Should Kamaru Usman prevail against Colby Covington, he will have defeated many of the welterweight division’s top contenders, some twice. It’s a statistic the champ is well aware of.
“I’m running. I’m sprinting past these dudes and I’m looking back and smiling at them now. This is a fun one. I’m having fun with this now. I’ve said before, I’ve been classically trained in all of this in this sport.
Coming up and watching guys like ‘Suga’ Rashad Evans and going with him to these media tours and these big, big fights. I was able to get an inside look at what this could be, to where I was able to dream and manifest what I wanted to be. Being up here and having these opportunities now, I’m blessed and it feels great.
I’m having fun.” For how much longer Usman sees himself having fun is the big question. Do you think the welterweight champ will retire after this fight? Let us know in the comments.
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