Kamaru Usman hopes his championship pedigree will help contribute to Francis Ngannou’s success at UFC 260.
Welterweight champion Usman (18-1 MMA, 13-0 UFC) will be in Ngannou’s corner for his headlining title rematch against heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, where Ngannou will attempt to become the third African-born UFC champion, along with Usman and Israel Adesanya.
Usman, who was in Ngannou’s corner when he scored a first-round knockout over Junior Dos Santos in July 2019, has taken part in numerous five-round fights and thinks his experience competing in the championship rounds can be beneficial for Ngannou (15-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC).
“I think it’s just experience,” Usman told ESPN. “Because me being in there, I’ve been in championship fights, and I think that’s one of the things that sets me apart from a lot of fighters is my mind as far as how I react to other fighters and how I think and how other fighters think, and I think he trusts that. But make no mistake, he has great coaches that have been coaching for a while so whatever he needs, I’m there to help.”
In his first fight with Miocic (20-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) in January 2018, Ngannou’s inexperience showed. He came out firing, but Miocic was able to weather the early storm and control an exhausted Ngannou for 25 minutes. Usman thinks that, if Ngannou paces himself, he’ll be able to take out the champ this time.
“I think he has to be relaxed because we put so much pressure on ourselves because we understand what us being champion does to where we’re from,” Usman said. “We understand that, and that’s a ton of pressure to put on yourself, and I just think he needs to relax. If he’s able to relax, I mean, we’re probably looking at one of the scariest men on the planet to date. So if he’s able to relax, I think he’ll shock a lot of people with all his newly acquired skills.”
Kamaru Usman hopes his championship pedigree in Francis Ngannou’s corner helps at UFC 260
