Admin l Sunday, April 25, 2021
JACKSONVILLE, Florida -The reigning and defending welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman delivered a picture-perfect knockout to finish Jorge Masvidal in the second round of their rematch in the UFC 261 main event, to cap off an action-packed night of fights from Jacksonville, Florida.
Addressing boxing followers at the VyStar Arena, Kamaru yells “Jacksonville, Florida, y’all said you wanted violence. You’re welcome”!
Prior to the knockout, the first big shot of the fight was landed by Kamaru after he connected with a hard right hand that tagged Masvidal on the jaw. As the second round got started, Usman was a little more wild on the feet but he still kept Masvidal honest with his strike as the crafty veteran kept waiting for an opening to return fire. That time never came because Usman unleashed the right hand that put Masvidal’s head on a swivel as he crashed to the canvas and there was almost an audible gasp from the fans in attendance as the fight came to a dramatic end in just one minute and two seconds into the second round.
Following the win, the undefeated champion first celebrates with his family, speaks with commentator Joe Rogan and had nothing but praise for Masvidal for bringing the absolute best out of him on Saturday night. ”Thank you to my man, Jorge. You elevated me, it’s been a while since I’ve been extremely nervous for fights. He elevated me, made me go to the workshop. I had to sharpen all my tools. I had to come out here and put on a performance like that. I told everybody I’m still getting better. The sky’s the limit for me as long as I’m doing this. At this point, the champion shouts, ”I know with my fundamentals I am the pound-for-pound best fighter on the planet right now.”
As for Masvidal, it was the second time in his career that he’s ever been finished with strikes and he paid homage to Kamaru Usman for a job well done after falling short in his second attempt to become UFC champion. “It hurts, I’ve never been knocked out in 50 pro fights. Usman showed me something he didn’t show me the first fight. I didn’t feel his power and that’s what happens when you’re overconfident. All the props to him in the world. He caught me by surprise. He’s got my number. Nothing I can say, he won this fair and square. God bless him.”
When you talk of martial artists, Kamaru is the absolute truth. Undefeated in the UFC, the Nigerian nightmare has dispatched yet another top-ranked contender as he continues to establish himself as one of the greatest welterweights in the history of the sport, although there’s another ranking he’s seeking to attain now.
Kamarudeen Usman, simply known as Kamaru Usman was born on the 11th of May 1987 in Auchi, Edo State, Nigeria, to a father who was in the Nigerian Army and a mother was a teacher. Kamaru grew up with two brothers, Kashetu and Mohammed, of whom the former is a Doctor of Pharmacy and the latter, a mixed martial artist in Benin City.
Kamaru and his family immigrated to the United States when he was 8 years old and started wrestling in his sophomore year in high school, at Bowie High School in Arlington, Texas. When Kamaru’s wrestling coach at the time had trouble pronouncing his first name Kamarudeen, he got the nickname “Marty” which stuck when he joined the team during his amateur wrestling career.
Kamaru Usman attended William Penn University for one year and later transferred to the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK), which had previously tried to recruit him under the advisement of then-UNK wrestler, Tervel Dlagnev and subsequently helped the Lopers win their first-ever team title in 2008.
In 2010, Kamaru became the NCAA Division II national champion at 174 pounds, finishing his season with a 44-1 record. Shortly after his folkstyle, (a form of wrestling practised by men at the college and university level in the United States) career was over, Usman turned his attention to freestyle wrestling and became a resident of the United States Olympic Training Center, with hopes of making the ’12 Olympic team.
Despite making the US University World Team in 2010, Usman was sidetracked by injuries and eventually abandoned his Olympic goal, turning his attention to mixed martial arts instead. Former National Football League (NFL) star Christian Okoye, who had the nickname “The Nigerian Nightmare” trademarked, gave his blessing for Usman to use it. Kamaru and his wife have a daughter; Samirah who was born in 2014.
