My Mom's Basement - FRIDAY BONUS EPISODE 19 - KAMARU USMAN

Episode Date: December 13, 2019

UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman joins Robbie in the Basement just one day out from UFC 245 in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he'll defend his championship versus bitter rival Colby Covington. Usman discusses life as a champion, what kinda "nerd" his opponent is, which fighters he enjoys watching the most, and more!You can find every episode of this show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Prime Members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. For more, visit barstool.link/mymomsbasement

Hey My Mom's Basement listeners, you can find our episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube, and Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. Just as I was sitting down to edit this podcast, I unfortunately shattered the screen of my computer. Shattered it completely. After I think I've had this computer for about seven, eight years, every blog I've ever written, every podcast I've ever edited, recorded, everything, every video I've ever had to edit has been done on this computer. So I sort of feel like I'm losing a family member here with the shattered screen. I'm sure I'll get it fixed. It'll be back to normal afterwards, but I did just get a new work computer. Shout out all business Pete. So I'm like, goddamn, I'm kind of going to be moving on from this bad boy. It's going to be the R2D2 to my BB-8, if you will. If you're wondering how I

shattered it, I was sitting on my couch, computer on my lap. I had a blanket on. I was looking for my phone, looking everywhere. I kind of put the computer to the side, stood up, grabbed the blanket and jerked it up. And the phone came flying out, hit the screen, shattered. So it is what it is. I appreciate All Business Pete getting me a new computer very quickly. And we'll get right into this episode now. I've got the UFC welterweight champion who will be competing tomorrow against Colby Covington at UFC 245, if you're listening to this on the 13th. It's a hell of a card.

Three title fights on this card. Friend of the show Max Holloway is on the card. And I feel like in this interview, we got to the bottom of what Colby Covington is really doing with his old shtick please enjoy this sit down with the ufc welterweight champion kamaru uzman all right welcome back to the show welcome back welcome back kamaru uzman this is your first time back at barstool in a while the last time you were here was right before the tyron woodley fight we gave you some extra confidence i think we boosted you up you went in there you won this championship and now you're the fucking champ

how has your life changed since the last time you were in here man oh man it's changed a lot you know I thought I would have a lot more time to kind of do whatever I wanted to do but not the case when you're champions a lot more obligations

a lot more things that they need you to do things that they places that they need you to be and so you know it's what i signed up for to be champion you know but i i would like to you know have more time to actually be present because i do have a daughter yeah so i that's the one thing that that i would kind of say it's kind of a negative but i love the fact that i'm able to work i'm able to be able to provide for her so you know it has its ups and downs, but I'm excited, man. I'm excited.

This is where I always wanted to be, and I'm there. I am the undisputed champion of the world. Absolutely. But you're feeling like the championship grind. There was a clear change once you get that championship. Do you feel like there's a target on your back from a fighting standpoint now too? Yeah. I mean, I approach every fight the same way.

I always felt that there was a target because at some point you're going to sign a contract to fight another person and there's always people sizing you up so people have always been looking at me since i got in the the organization like i'm gonna have to fight that guy i want to fight that guy so it's always been that way but is it more pressure though i would say the only thing that really sucks is the fact that now i have to train for all five round fights oh yeah there's a big difference between three rounds and five rounds yeah like i can sprint for all you know three minutes i can sprint for all three rounds i can sprint for five rounds too but that's extra work to get to get that sprint going so i would say um

you know all in all, I'm just excited. This is, uh, this is something that people rarely ever see. You've seen some of the best fighters in the world never get to achieve this to get to the top. So I'm excited, man. I'm happy.

We're all happy for you here. And this fight is a long time coming this weekend. You've got Colby Covington for this championship. There's some real bad blood here, right there. You would You would say that you guys really don't like each other. Yeah, Colby Cuntinton. I think that's a good name for him. I'm going to be honest. I'm not a fan of his either. Yeah, Colby Cuntinton. It's a big fight. I'm excited for the fight. That's the word I can only put on it because it's real. It's not fake. This is real rivalry.

This is what price fighting was designed for. It's for moments like this where it's good versus evil. And it just so happens to be, I'm not, you know, a race guy by any means, but it just happens to be the guy who is kind of right now jumping on the Trump train and creating this persona to where he's made – I give him props. He's kind of made it the fight that is tugging at people's strings. People want to see him get knocked out. People want to see that. And I'm going to have to be the guy to knock him out. Which would be fucking awesome.

Come on, fucking do it for us. Come on, man. I can't wait to be standing over him. And this is just, I'll tell you secrets. At this point now, you start to get a lot of daydreams, a lot of night dreams about it. The visualization. The visualization. You start to picture it all the time.

Your mind is running circles, playing out how this fight ends, what happens, what's going on, what takes place. And each and every time, it ends with me just, I'm seeing his face. He's laying there, unconscious, face is all cut up with deep cuts, blood, bloodied up. His eyes roll back in the back of his head. There's the referee. There's doctors, all kinds of people around him. This is terrifying. You're describing a horror movie right now.

Yeah, all kinds of people around him, and they're trying to resuscitate him. They're trying to bring him back, and I'm standing over him. And this is just how it ends each and every single time in my mind. So I can't wait to actually make it a reality. You're a fucking savage. Let's talk about Colby Covington's, you know, shtick, if we can, for a second. You said,

this is real, this is not fake. And I agree, this rivalry bleeds, you know, real. But Colby Covington's shtick, he's come out and said, you know, even as recently as this week, that he really turns it on, and he turned it on, obviously, after that Damian Maia fight, the whole MAGA thing. How do you feel about this? Because for me, I understand it. I'm a pro wrestling fan. I come from pro wrestling before I was a fan of MMA. I get what he's trying to do.

He's selling pay-per-views, and he's doing a good job with it. But at the same time, it kind of feels like, to me, he's using it as an excuse to say some really ignorant shit and hateful shit. Yeah, and also you can understand that that that's weakness right there he's already finding a way out by starting by mentioning that yeah yeah you're starting to tell people that it's a stick you oh i'm just putting it on for the why you're starting to look for a way out already interesting it's it's he's never really done this before this fight i think psychologically it's he's already looking for a way out. When I lose,

people don't hate me because I was just putting it on for an act to sell. You think The Rock goes around telling everyone it's a shtick? No. The Rock, that's not his name. His name is Dwayne Johnson. That's not his name. But The Rock is The Rock. He buys into it. That's him.

He's not going around, oh, I'm just putting this on for you people. No. If you're going to play that character, be that character. He's already looking for a way out because he knows what's coming. I think that's an interesting way of looking at it. If you can look back, look at my last fight. Kobe Covington was there.

Remember fight week? Oh, yeah. He was there. He was screaming. He was whooping it up in the crowd. At my open workout. Yes. He came out with a megaphone, which is kind of my shtick, if we're being honest.

He stole that from me. Yeah, was he there for Tyron Woodley's open workout? I don't think he was, no. No. So it goes to tell you who he was worried about, what he knew was going to happen. Why didn't you do that? If you want to be the best, you want to fight the champion, you want to be the champion, why wouldn't you do that to the champion?

You did that to the challenger because he knew what was going to happen. And it was even he was getting on. He was calling you Kamaru Snoozeman. He's got the corniest nicknames ever. Making up nicknames. Oh, this is the real belt. This is the real belt. Why you're at my open workout?

And I'm a challenger. I'm not even the champion yet. Why are you doing it? Because he knew what was going to happen. Another thing about him, multiple fighters multiple fighters including yourself i remember you saying this at a press conference to him have accused him of like pretty much being a different person behind the scenes like you see him behind the scenes and people say that he's quieter and he's you know a bit shy is that something that you still stand by like when he's a nerd he's a nerd

like let's be honest we accept him on this show Come on my mom's Facing here We don't accept His kind of nerd man Yeah it's a different Kind of nerd Like it's a different Kind of nerd Like there's There's the

You know the Quote on quote Nerd who It's not even a bad thing You're accepted now Because nerds got the facts You know they got We're just talking

I'm the kind of nerd I just like comic books You know what I mean I just like superhero movies Come on all that kind of stuff so if i'm in the superheroes i'm gonna come to you hey what did uh superman do in this comic or this and that and you got the facts bro i got the facts it's like oh yeah that's my dude right there you guys might quote uncle call him a nerd but he got the facts when i need him that's my guy boom but he's the kind of nerd that comes around yeah i've got four chicks with me I'm banging four chicks

No you're not I got a private jet No you don't I've got a big mansion No you don't Those girls are rented You hired all of that stuff So stop

Those videos really do make me cringe out of my skin That's what I'm saying Even the nerds don't like him He's that kind of, he's not accepted. Those videos really do make me cringe out of my skin, Henry Cejudo style. That's what I'm saying. Even the nerds don't like him. You know, he's just, he's that guy that he's just, and I give him props for this. Somehow he has found a lane to where he's unaccepted by all. True. I guarantee you Donald Trump is in the office like, God, fuck, I don't even like this guy. Please knock him out.

I guarantee you Donald's like. Did you see the stuff Dana said about Colby wanting to sit next to Donald at UFC 244 in MSG? And he said, he was like, let me ask Donald. And he was like, eventually it just didn't happen. I don't think Colby was there. No, it's not going to happen because Donald's probably not. I think his son's probably like Colby because he's always, you know, plugging their book for free. I mean, he's trying to plug their book.

Yeah. I don't know. You should get some money from your sponsors, I think. Yeah, they do it just to do it. Like, oh, sure, we'll ride with that guy. But deep down inside, they're probably like, God, we hate this guy. I like this.

This is a fucking Colby Covington roast sesh between you and me, Ray. This is great. Well, when you see a clown, you know. Complete clown. Clown show. Could you ever see yourself doing something where you throw on like a shtick in MMA

or do you think you'll always be yourself no because obviously there are those scenarios where you could see where it's acceptable no i i i don't think i never say never let's be honest i never say never yeah if they come out and say we'll give you 10 million dollars to to really be the rick flair kind of guy. Woo! I'm there. I never say never, but at the end of the day, I think the principle and the basis of what MMA was built upon was honor and respect and integrity and those things. That's what I learned early on when I got into martial arts,

when I started wrestling, is those principles. It's going to be tough, but those are what I stand by, and that's what I want to put out into martial arts when I started wrestling is those principles. So it's going to be tough, but you know, those are what I stand by. And that's, that's what I want to put out into the world. So just to play devil's advocate, we can say what we will about Colby as a person, as a fighter, he's very talented. He put on a crazy performance against Robbie Lawler. I thought, you know, the most significant strikes ever thrown and most strikes ever thrown. How do you prepare for a guy that has the kind of volume that he has? Cause you do as well. And you kind of seem to show that you were able to do that with Woodley, I thought.

But how is that different? Because it's got to be grueling. Yeah, but see, a lot of people are saying that there's a stat here. The most significant strikes, thrown. Yeah. Like, if I had a punching bag in front of me, I can throw thousands of punches at it all day. Thrown. Not landed. So you're not buying too much into that stuff.

No. And at the end of the day, you know, I can throw punches all the time. But if no one's punching me back, it's a different story. It's a whole different story. Now, how do you react when you throw a punch and the guy punches you back harder? And you try to take him down. He stuffs it and punches you harder harder do you think anyone's ever been able to do that no one's done that to him no no one's done that to him which is why he's even here why he even has this opportunity some people have shown glances of it yeah but no one's actually executed it and that's

what i do showed some hands in the last fight i thought the referee was going to step in and stop that fight at some point when you had him up against the cage, you just weren't it on? Yeah, I just had to go crazy at some point. You're throwing those crazy uppercuts, breaking through the guard and shit. That was unbelievable. Man, I can't wait. I can't wait for this fight. It's what the fans are excited about, been excited about for a long time.

Huge, huge question for you here. Huge. Is your wonderful mother going to be in attendance for this one? Of course. And do you think – we heard that Colby was like – when I was watching it live, I saw reports from people that were there, and they were like, Colby's yelling at Usman's mom right now. It's my wish. I mean, I don't know exactly because they had to take me to the back after the fight. And then, yes, Woodley's mom saw you, gave you, again, the nicest pep talk of all time.

Yeah, I think it's a, you know, obviously those are our mothers. Those are the women that raised us. Yeah. And so they understand the element of respect. So when it's a young man that's shown respect, which is why Woodley's mom and myself had that moment. That was really nice. She understands how much I respect this sport. I respect her son, and I respect her.

And same thing with my mom. But when you have somebody like Covington who negates all of that. Yeah. Yeah, there's no pep talk going on here. The only pep talk is good luck, buddy. Good try. Yeah. You tried.

Good job. What is your next career goal after this fight? Because obviously you've just won the championship. There's a lot of people that are gunning for your head right now. What do you want, though? You know what? I'm not shy to say this, but I want to be bigger than a rock. Wow.

That's a lofty goal. That's a big one. Yeah. I want to be bigger than a rock. Wow. That's a lofty goal. That's a big one. I want to be bigger than the rock. You look up to the rock in some ways? Am I catching that? I mean, who doesn't? I mean, not in a sense. You look up to it, not in a sense. Take inspiration from him, I guess.

Oh, absolutely. Fascinating story that we could all relate to because I've been there. Yeah. And, yeah, for a guy that's doing it as well as he's doing it and has transformed it to the guy that he is, absolutely. So how did you feel about him strapping that BMF title around Jorge Masvidal? I mean, he had to do that. I know.

I mean, how did you feel about the whole thing, I guess, the whole— I didn't really care about it because I understand that they were just needing to promote something because i mean what what is the bmf is he defending it no exactly i was told what weight class is it i think it's welterweight you think see that's what i'm saying nobody cares it was just a thing a little you know added hunch to promote that fight since covington and myself didn't end up fighting here in New York so it was just something that they had to do did you feel slighted with the way people seemingly were talking about like your fighting style everyone is saying like this is a different style than that welterweight championship like they're just gonna go and

grapple each other to death and these guys are gonna go slug it out when they were saying that were you like yo what the fuck no I didn't, that's what, this is mixed martial arts. Yeah. This is not, you know, backyard boxing. We do that at Barstool, rough and rowdy, we call it. It's great. I'm a commentator. It's a good time.

Yeah, nothing against backyard boxing. Bro, backyard boxing is legit. Yeah, but it's just not, it's not MMA. Yeah. Mixed martial arts, you have to be able to showcase the wrestling, the grappling, all of that. And so it's not my fault. I'm just a better wrestler and grappler than these guys, and I know how to dominate them. That's not my fault.

If you want to be the best mixed martial artist, you should be able to know how to stop that and impose your will. So if guys can't do it, then that's on them. I think that's a pretty good way of looking at it. And then with this new January 18th card spurting out of the blue, Conor and Cowboy's happening in your weight class at 170. Are you keeping that in the corner of your eye? Because Conor, he said he wants to prove

that he's big enough for Masvidal. He's got Masvidal on his tracks. You're not even paying attention to that. No. At the end of the day, Conor just needs to get a win. Conor's just coming back in to try to get a win. And, you know, I feel like people are kind of disrespecting Cowboy here. I think they are, too.

I'm a Conor guy myself, but people are acting like he's some kind of washed up, past his prime guy. Cowboy ain't a bum. Cowboy is a tough dude. And Cowboy really, if he goes out there and puts in the work, Cowboy, man, Cowboy can end the show for him. Talking like that Justin Gaethje fight there. Like, well, Justin Gaethje not just knocked him out. Well, it's Justin Gaethje. He's a savage.

There's a reason Conor didn't come back and fight Justin Gaethje. There's a reason for that. So it is what it is. I'm not worried about it because Conor wants to ask for work. Conor can get the work too. He knows that. This is not something that he wants. After what Khabib just did to him, he might never walk again

if he has to fight me. That's not something that he wants. It's a fun fight. Same thing with the one that happened here, 244. That was a fun fight. UFC is into promoting these fun fights now. Same thing with the one that happened here, 244. That was a fun fight. Yeah. So UFC is into promoting these fun fights now.

So, you know, I'm excited. You know, I'm excited for them, you know, putting on another fun fight. But it's not something I'm paying attention to. Like, these are guys that I'm actually going to fight. Okay. And then this card, real quick, has two other title fights. I was just curious. I always like asking fighters this.

Which fighters do you enjoy watching? Because there's some awesome ones on this card. I mean, for me, Holloway, Amanda Nunez, obviously, I think greatest women's fighter of all time. So I'm excited to see a bunch of fights on this card. But, like, what are you excited about? Not even only on this card. Yeah, man.

I'm a fight fan, so I like watching a lot of guys, different weight classes, some fighters that excite me a lot obviously number one uh francis and ghanu yeah israel adesanya how could you not i mean did you see the the fights this weekend though that that ream and that ream knockout where his face exploded i trained uh yeah uh biggie boy i actually trained at our trains at a gym sometimes and uh so i've seen him work. He works hard. Those hands are just unbelievable. He's got heavy hands. He called out Ngannou.

What kind of insane balls you've got to have to call out Francis? You've got to have big ones. Francis Ngannou, one of my favorite guys to watch. Have you met him? Spoken to him before? Yeah, me and Francis are really good friends.

I was going to say Francis. I just talked to him about an hour ago, actually. Oh, really? So, yeah, Francis, Israel Adesanya, one of my favorite guys to watch. Eddie Alvarez, one of my favorite guys to watch fight. Razak Al-Hassan, he's a welterweight as well. When he comes back, one of my favorites to watch, Khabib. Yeah. It goes on amanda nunez rose anomaly units also rose is great yeah so in that

the fight that she lost against andrage yeah she put on a clinic in that first round like it's and and i like watching these fights just for different you know they're different style all different styles they present you know they present different challenges and i like the way that these fighters go out there and put it all together and and i you know i love watching them i'm a fight fan and these are just kind of some of my favorites you know a lot of guys max holloway too i love watching him so max is in his own that fight he had againsttega, the striking clinic he put on in that one. I mean, even... I feel like the game is just changing.

Guys like yourself, guys like... These newer era of MMA, even we see this past weekend, Bryce Mitchell, Thug Nasty, slapping on a twister. And he's like, oh yeah, I do that all the time in training. It's crazy how much the game is involving.

I think MMA is as... From a fan's point of view, as good as it's ever been. And this card is pretty much as good as you're going to get. Three title fights. You and Covington, real beef in the main event. You've got Holloway. You've got Volkanovski. You've got Jermaine Durandamy.

You've got Amanda Nunez. Last big card of the year. Dude, I'm looking forward to it. Best of luck to you. Hopefully we can bring you the good luck again. Thank you so much. I'm excited and I can't wait.