Both legendary fighters, Kamaru Usman and Khabib Nurmagomedov also get along very well in private life. The Nigerian Nightmare has just made a big statement about his former UFC peer. Interesting, given that his talk about the Dagestani seems a bit muddled, lately.
He hadn’t been seen in an octagon since November 2021, when he defeated Colby Covington and thus retained his welterweight championship title. But nearly a year later, the wait is finally over for fans of Kamaru Usman, who will headline UFC 278 this weekend. This time, it will be Leon Edwards that the formidable fighter will measure up to, putting his belt into play. The odds are in his favour, if only because he had already won their last clash, dating back to 2015.
It will also be an opportunity for him to further inflate his impressive career record: 20 wins in 21 head-to-head matches, for only one loss. It’s simple, he hasn’t lost since 2013 and a fight against José Caceres! By the way, this shows the longevity of the person concerned on the MMA scene. Slowly but gently, he is also heading towards retirement, he who is now 35 years old. He is still very strong physically, but his athletic abilities will inevitably end up declining and it will then be necessary to consider a retraining.
Such a transition is not always easy for athletes, and many find it difficult to find their way after the end of their active journey. A priori, however, we do not have to worry about the Nigerian Nightmare, which has already asked the question. In an interview published on the Youtube channel of his great friend Francis Ngannou, member like him of the “3 Kings”, he explained that he saw himself becoming a coach. He notably cited one of his former peers as an example:
Kamaru Usman ready to become a coach after his career
Kamaru Usman: I’m sure I will continue to train after I retire because I love living and training. I think I’m going to miss MMA so much that I’m going to train a lot. When I see Khabib Nurmagomedov right now, I think I’m going to do like him and train other guys. Maybe not so crazy because this guy has a whole team for practice, but I’m going to love practicing. Khabib, he loves working out right now and he’s fucking all his guys!
The Eagle will certainly appreciate the compliment, he who shares the same agent with Usman (Ali Abdelaziz). Retired since 2021, the former lightweight champion has since effectively turned to coaching. If he is very modest on the subject, the neo-Hall of Famer seems to have some success in the field, however, putting his expertise to good use to help his foals progress. One thinks in particular of Islam Makhachev, and he has since another “very dangerous” protege, in his own words. It also allows him to keep a solid form.
That Usman therefore wants to draw inspiration from him is particularly complimentary, that being said, we can note his somewhat ambivalent speech about the Dagestani, lately. In effect, he just snubbed him in a pretty heated discussion, much to everyone’s surprise considering they’ve been friends for a long time. Now he’s back praising Khabib for the work he’s done since he hung up… We’re definitely not sure on which foot to dance when it comes to the two men.
Like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Kamaru Usman sees himself moving into coaching once his fighting career comes to an end. With his experience and his achievements, the Nigerian has what it takes to become a quality mentor. On the other hand, as he suggests, it will certainly not be a copy-paste of what The Eagle does.
