Dana White claims Kamaru Usman told him a ‘weight has been lifted’ after losing UFC title
Kamaru Usman is no longer the UFC welterweight champion and according to ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ he says a weight has been lifted off of him.
Usman suffered a stunning fifth-round head kick KO loss to Leon Edwards in a fight he was less than a minute from winning and defending his belt. Although the loss is disappointing, according to White, Kamaru Usman told him a big weight has been lifted off his shoulders as he’s no longer the champ as the pressure is off him.
“We talked. He’s in great spirits. Obviously he wants the rematch bad, but he said, ‘I can’t tell you the weight that’s been lifted off me.’ There’s a lot of pressure that goes along with the run that he was on and tying and breaking Anderson’s record,” White said about Usman after the Contender Series on Tuesday. “All that stuff, there’s a lot of pressure. So, he’s looking forward to the rematch.”
This is also not the first time a champion has said this after they lost the belt as the pressure of being a UFC champion is a tough one.
Although there is a weight off Usman’s shoulders, White was full of praise of Leon Edwards who says he’s ready to defend his belt whenever. It was also an incredible run for Edwards to become the champ.
“He’s down. He’s ready to defend,” White said. “He’s ready to take on whatever it is. He’s going on a whirlwind media tour when he goes home. A lot of stuff changes when you get that belt, so his whole world is about to change in the next few weeks, but he’s ready for it. Talk about somebody that’s had nothing but bad luck, and one of the things that we’re talking about is that kid accepted the Khamzat fight two or three times, who was unranked. He’s legit, man. That kid is legit and was down to fight anybody, anytime, anywhere. He just had a really great string of bad luck.”
