MORNING KOMBAT WITH LUKE THOMAS AND BRIAN CAMPBELL - Kamaru Usman on the Art of Losing and Why He MUST Win Trilogy for Legacy | Morning Kombat Interview

Episode Date: March 16, 2023

Brian Campbell sits down with Kamaru Usman ahead of his trilogy with Leon Edwards. Kamaru Usman discusses what went wrong in the second fight, How he has changed mentally for this fight and what a win would mean for his legacy. Morning Kombat is available for free on the Audacy app as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and wherever else you listen to podcasts.     For more Combat Sports coverage subscribe here: youtube.com/MorningKombat   Follow our hosts on Twitter: @BCampbellCBS, @lthomasnews, @MorningKombat    For Morning Kombat gear visit:morning kombat.store   Follow our hosts on Instagram: @BrianCampbell, @lukethomasnews, @MorningKombat Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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I mean, I'm looking at one of the greatest fighters in UFC history, and that's still a thing, Kamaru Usman, but you've been very, very quiet on the build to Saturday's UFC 286 trilogy with Leon Edwards for the title, England, all that stuff. I've known this game long enough that there's a few out there that that silence speaks louder than any words. What's behind that? England, all that stuff. I've known this game long enough that there's a few out there that, that, that silence speaks louder than any words. What's behind that.

Yeah. It's just me really understanding that. And I watched it. I, like I I've, I've said before, I'm, I'm, I believe I was classically trained for this, being able to shadow guys like Sugar Rashad Evans and all of these top guys in the sport to where I understand that once you become the champion, once you're defending and you're just that figure, a lot of noise comes with it. There's a lot of people. There's a lot of things being decided. You got to go to this event, that event, pulled into this interview, that interview. And it's a lot of noise that starts to cloud, you know, the journey.

It starts to cloud the, you know, it's just a lot of noise. And when I've said before that it was almost kind of a relief is it silenced all of that. You know, all the people that were jumping on the ship and making the ship very, very heavy and making it slower than it needed to go, you know, kind of now jumped off. And I love that because now it gave me a time to really enjoy this sport again.

And I enjoyed the times of just, you know, me and my daughter driving to the gym and back, every day, to gym and back, gym and back. And I got a sense of that again. And it's just basically the line that's brewing. And now that's what the case was before I faced Tyron Woodley. And I got a taste of that, this camp. So I'm excited and I just can't wait to this Saturday for the world to,

to see what I've been in the lab doing. Well, look, you know know we've all marveled on this end that like you know I think it's important when you call out a great loser in a big moment just the same as somebody you know winning in such humble inspirational fashion which we see a lot in this game you know Giuliana Pena gets Amanda Nunes and it's like man that's the human spirit but the human spirit is on the other side too and I don't feel like you handled that any better in terms of your responses, your level headedness. So you've had that apprenticeship of, like you said, behind some, some, some of those who prepared for you, but you're also human. So how hard was the stripping of that invincibility, even in advance

of preparing for it? Because if you throw your heart into something, which you have to this profession, there's going to be trauma. You know, when things don't go your way, it's natural. Yeah, it's very natural. Like I said, I've just been blessed to be able to do and witness certain things that have prepared me for this moment. You know, I've been in over 200-300 amateur wrestling matches

to where sometimes you're in a tournament and you have 5, 6, 7 matches in order to be able to be the champion of that tournament or unable to be able to get on the award stand and get third place. Sometimes that first match

of the day, boom, you get knocked out of the championship side you lost now you have to battle all the way back in the consolation side to potentially get that third place medal and i've been classically trained for that i've been doing that since i was 13 years old and so you know this is no different we saw the first time i this is not my first loss in the movie We saw what happened after that first loss. I went on, what, a 14, 15 fight win streak. And so it's just anything. It's like poking the bear or poking the lion.

He just went over there and he poked the lion and woke the lion up. And now it's time for me to turn around and roar and let everybody know that I'm still here in that room. All right. How much have you used the tape of that fight for motivation? Is it better for you to, hey, I lived it. I know what happened. Let's move on. Or have you gone back and rewatched it painstakingly to rebuild that roar inside you?

No, of course, I've watched it a couple of times, just mistakes and then seeing where I was making mistakes and where I wasn't as strong and it wasn't as tight. And I think there was a couple of spots in the fights where I was kind of lackadaisical. And I just need to correct that because I know when a stingy oosman in the fight is a very, very dangerous oosman. So that's all I need to be. I need to go in go in there be stingy be mindful of everything that i'm doing all i have to do is be present for 25 minutes and you know and new again uh look there's a they always say when you're on top for a while and you know you the win streak the the title the five title defenses the pound for pound kingship you you know, movie roles. Congratulations. I mean, you were on top, very top.

It's hard because the fall can be big there. We've seen, you've got the preparations there, but so many people are going to be focused on how you mentally and physically respond to that in the cage come Saturday night in this trilogy bout. So it seems like you're doing great and I and I applaud that huge in terms though is there any receipt from the loss is there anything you had to overcome or was it like night and day I'm back I'm back at it I'm unplugging I'm resetting we're coming back after it yeah I was, it's weird.

It was almost like on a ride to the hospital that night. I was already over it. I was over it. And like I said, when you feel that, that sense of relief, it's just like all the expectations,

all the this and every, all of these, it was almost like, you just hear it all quiet down. And, and it makes it for the sport fun for me you know the sport wasn't necessarily as fun with all the noise like I love the position and and you know the position that I ascended to I loved it and I appreciate it because I know that's what comes when you really put in the work like I did over the years but it wasn't necessarily as fun as the journey it was it that wasn't necessarily

as fun when I was fighting Tyron Woodley I was still able to go to LA Fitness or something like that and just hot tub and and just sit in the hot tub and it's just me and maybe like you know some middle-aged you know two, some middle-aged, you know, two or three middle-aged women that are just there just like, hey, what are you doing? You know, and that was okay. And then you ascend to this place where you can't necessarily leave your house or go certain places without someone bothering you for this, this and that, which, you know, it's not necessarily

a bad thing. It's just that that becomes noise. And with this, it just kind of silenced that a little bit. So I'm, I'm just, I'm grateful. But if people, people speak about, Oh man, the man that might leave a receipt or trauma, this and that in your head, I sense where they're coming from when they're speaking about ordinary people. I sense that. I think that's right.

When you speak about ordinary people, they're like, okay, that could happen, that could happen. But I think it's my job on Saturday to show them, Leon, and the rest of the world, that I am extraordinary. I am not ordinary. You looked super extraordinary on the road to get to this point. And you're right. When you look back at the ones that are your contemporaries

in terms of, of the, the direction your career path is heading in terms of all time, you know, legacy GSP repaired that mistake against Matt, Sarah, you know, Amanda Nunes just repaired that against Pena. It's sort of expected if you're above that ilk. But I want to ask you specifically about how you prepare for this trilogy from this standpoint. When you're on top for so long, there's a lot of tape of you. There's a lot of time for others to really pick apart every motion, mannerism. We just saw Valentina lose her title, making one mistake. We saw Adesanya in the final round.

We saw you. Is that almost a burden where it's like you've got to evolve at such a quick fast pace that there could never be stagnancy yeah see the thing with that is it's you know that I'm glad you asked that question the thing with that is yes you have a ton of tape and all these all these fighters and all these people have those tapes to watch and study and try to defeat you with what they've studied. If they're able to do that, if they have the ability to study your tape and go out there and shut everything down and do that, they're the better fighter. They

deserve to be champion anyways. You can't stop it. If they have the ability to trump what they see on tape, they're the better fighter anyways. Now, the problem is you can watch as much tape as you want to. A lot of people can see me and say, oh, wow, he has a decent gas tank. But until you are locked in that cage with me and you actually feel that, you have no idea. This individual has felt it twice, and he has melted twice. So he's shown me nothing to let me believe that he's a better mixed martial artist than I am, besides one Hail Mary in the fifth round. Well, look, rounds two through four and a half of your rematch, they tell that story.

I think it's why you open up here as the betting favorite, whether that matters or not. But do you feel a push to change too much entering the third fight? Where do you and the coaches sort of settle on that? No, it's just a matter of me taking into account what the coaches would like for me to do to win the fight. There's a clear-cut way to win the fight. But me being the competitor that I am, sometimes I'm a bit hard-headed to where I want to do it my way. I want to break them my way.

I want to potentially finish them my way. Like with all that happened with George Masvidal the first time and all that I had to deal with and dealing with being injured and then flying four days all the way across the world to Abu Dhabi, not sleeping, under quarantine, making weight, and then having to go out there and fight him early in the morning. With all of that, I still overcame and won that fight unanimously. But with that, I was overcame and won that fight unanimously. But with that, I was unhappy. Get groceries delivered across the GTA from Real Canadian Superstore with PC Express.

Shop online for super prices and super savings. Try it today and get up to $75 in PC Optimum Points. Visit Superstore.ca to get started. I was unhappy with that. And I think there was a video that I saw later on that they took backstage just really showing how unhappy I was with that. That's why I asked for that fight again. I asked for it again because I put in so much time to preparation for these fights and I go through the ringer.

So when I get out there, I want to leave it all out there. I want to die by that sword. And, hey, this is being no different. And that's why I'm hoping that on Saturday I'm going to be of sound mind to be able to take into the account of what my company my, my company, my coach, everyone is, is, is given me. And also keeping my mind and spirit in check to where I go out there and I do it not only flawlessly, but as violently as I want to.

Look, Kamara, you had one of the greatest stretches, the sports ever seen the five title defenses, the power, you had one of the greatest stretches the sport's ever seen. The five title defenses, the power for power number one. It was, it was incredible. The legacy that where you're knocking, right? You were one away from tying Anderson Silva's vaunted win streak record in the UFC. Do you need this win in your own personal opinion to fulfill the legacy you're trying to, you're trying to do for your own competitiveness, for your family,

for, for what you're trying to leave behind. And I don't know, a lot of times guys say, Oh, I don't think about that. I don't look at pound for pound. I don't care. I'll care when I'm 75 years old sitting by the fire, right? Maybe. Do you need this win to be who you're trying to tell everybody you are i think i need this win in a in a different sense i as far as what i've done in the sport i've done that it's not going anywhere it's not changing it's not going to be erased in any way shape form or fashion um that's already there. But I need this one because I just spent so much time in this training camp. I took beatings from all my teammates, all my training partners,

beatings from guys like Justin Gaethje and all these other guys. When you go through that and having to get up and eat this and go and, and, and go to the gym and work out and come back and do physical therapy, eat that, go to the gym, come back, do, and I just do that time and time and time and time again. I need this to, to let me know that, Hey, that I was okay. It was worth it. I need this for that. And most importantly, I need this because I find myself in a place of when you've kind of done it all, you kind of have to seek and pivot and find new motivation and most importantly, my daughter. And when you're raising a child, I need this to let her know that it's okay to stumble and fall sometimes and what you're doing in life, but you have to get back up and you have to give it some effort. So I need this for all of that. And after Saturday night, when I am victorious,

the world would know that it's okay to stumble and fall but you can get back up and get back on that horse and still get to that destination great answer that's a fantastic answer it's the best one you probably you know could have worked up and it feels real in that regard um the pound for pound conversation changed a little bit in your absence from the last fight to this one were you focused on that do you care whether the public thinks it's islam whether the public thinks it's volkanovski or john jones returning or hey you win back this championship on saturday you might be you might be the best in the sport after that any comments on that or is that just all extra it is extra you know it's it's i guess it's a conversation piece it's a cool conversation to have you know to say oh yeah that's a pound for pound champion but you know it

is what it is well guys like john jones there it's it's a hard conversation to have but at the end of the day um being a welterweight champion of the world to myself, my family and my daughter, you know, that means the world to me. And this Saturday, we're going to definitely be saying that. Impactful stuff to close here. Lighthearted stuff here. Saw you in Wakanda forever. And it was, it was awesome. Okay. You may have gotten snubbed on the Oscars best supporting actor voting. voting it's possible but is that a pinch me moment what is that i mean you could play cool and be like man i'm kamar usman you know this happens but it doesn't really always

happen and oh by the way like pretty damn good in that role too when you're watching that premiere in the theater you you gotta be thinking back to being you you know, that little kid, you know, I mean, that's, that's, that's insanity, right? It is. But the weird thing now is, is, um, I'm having so many moments thrown at me in life to where it's like, I don't fully grasp them all. I don't fully indulge in them. I think, I think that's just the way I'm wired is what's next. You know, I have the title defense. What next what's next what's next you know so i remember watching the movie the first time the first one and thinking how big how

impactful this was how amazing man i would love to be a part of something like that three four years later i'm in the movie i'm sitting there in premiere watching it and it's almost like is that me is that so where I still don't feel like I'm fully grasping that and so I think um I mean I think obviously because of that and the fight and and all of that thing kind of maybe pulled that away you know from that pulled away from that a little bit but I I think maybe in the next coming years, it's really going to sink in how incredible of a life I've lived and how impactful it is. And Weatherwell, I had two-time welterweight champion

on the end of that. Kamaru, a pleasure to chat with you. Appreciate the candidness. Best of luck to you in this trilogy fight. We can't wait. Thank you so much.