Kamaru Usman changes camps ahead of UFC 251 title defense against teammate Gilbert Burns

UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman is dealing with a unique set of circumstances ahead of his second title defense.

Usman (16-1 MMA, 11-0 UFC) takes on longtime teammate Gilbert Burns in the main event of UFC 251 on July 11 at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

Both men train at Sanford MMA in Florida. But according to ESPN, Usman has moved his camp to Denver to prepare under the guidance of head coach Trevor Wittman, who trains the likes of former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas and interim lightweight champ Justin Gaethje. Wittman, along with Jorge Santiago and Usman’s brother Mohammed, are expected to be in his corner for the fight.

Burns (19-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) has remained in Florida, but their head coach, Henri Hooft, will take a step back and won’t be involved in either man’s preparation.

“Our main coach, Henri Hooft – he stepped out,” Burns told ESPN. “He said, ‘I don’t want to go either way. I don’t want to pick a side. You guys train. I’ll be here at the gym. If you want to train here, we can train, but I’m not going to the fight.’

“I’m here with my whole team – everybody: all my coaches, all my training partners, my brother, Vicente Luque is coming to do my corner, and my coach from Brazil, Daniel, is coming, too. And I have Vagner Rocha, my main jiu-jitsu guy, here. For me, it doesn’t change much. It’s just a little weird to fight Kamaru because I really like the guy a lot. We’ve been training together since 2012 or 2013, so we’ve put a lot of time together.”