Kamaru Usman didn’t realize he’d lost the welterweight title for nearly 30 minutes after Leon Edwards kicked him in the head.
In 2022, Usman was chasing history, attempting to defend his welterweight title
for the sixth time, as he rematched Leon Edwards at UFC 278. And for 24 minutes, things were going well for “The Nigerian Nightmare” as he controlled Edwards for the bulk of the fight and appeared to be cruising to another successful title defense. But in the literal last minute of the fight, Edwards pulled off the greatest comeback in MMA history, flattening Usman was a brutal headkick to end the welterweight champion’s undefeated UFC run.
It was a brutal knockout, and speaking with Daniel Cormier on his YouTube channel on Wednesday, Usman revealed that he despite being awake, he didn’t really come to his senses until nearly 30 minutes after the bout.
“I don’t remember none of that,” Usman said, talking about his post-fight interactions.
“… So we get done, I stand there, they even announce him as the winner, I dap him up, and I walk out of there. Autopilot, I walk out, I’m dapping up fans on the way out, ‘I’ll get him next time,’ all the way to the back, see family, cut the gloves off me, I’m in the tent, I’m OK. I’m there. That transition was probably 15 maybe 20 minutes. Get done with family and he UFC, I’m like, ‘I’m OK, I’m fine.’ They’re like, ‘Let’s just go to the hospital to scan and make sure everything is fine.’ I said, ‘OK, just precaution.’
“I get an ambulance, I hug my family, we’re good, so I get in the ambulance, I’m going toward the hospital. It’s me and my manager, Ali, with me. They’re asking — of course, there’s a paramedic back there, they’re going to ask their questions. So she’s asking me questions and I’m answering questions, and then she asks me this one questions — I think she asked me the question twice, in a row: ‘Do you know where you’re at?’ She asked me again, ‘ Alright, so do you know what day it is?’ And me, I’m almost competitive mode, I want to get the right answer out. Not just get it out right, but get it out and give her more, so she knows exactly that not only do I know the answer to that, but I’ll give you more for extra credit. ‘Do you know the date?’ ‘Yeah, of course I know. It’s Saturday, August something, Salt Lake City, Utah, UFC 270 — f******ck.
“Oh, if they’re asking me this question, noooooo.’ I’m like, ‘No way!’”
But the long period of being out of it wasn’t even the worst part of Usman. The future Hall of Famer said he quickly came to terms with the loss and was doing OK in the hospital, until he saw clips online of his family’s reaction to the brutal knockout.
“We get back in the hospital and I’m sitting in the room, and at this point, I’m shadowboxing because I’m fine,” Usman said. “Everything is good. I’m back now. … And someone had clipped out my daughter, she’s happy because all she’s ever known is daddy go out there and win and do everything, and my daughter watched this brutal head kick. She’s never seen her dad down like that. So she’s crying, she screams hysterically, and she’s turning. Someone clipped that and posted it, and I saw that, and that’s when it broke me.”
Usman went on to have a trilogy bout against Edwards in March of 2023, losing by majority decision. After a brief foray to middleweight for a short-notice fight with Khamzat Chimaev, Usman returned to welterweight earlier this year, winning a unanimous decision over Joaquin Buckley at UFC Atlanta in June.
TOP STORIES
Title. Ian Machado Garry: Islam Makhachev will fight me after UFC Qatar, not ‘has-been who has no knees’ Kamaru Usman.
Weight. Islam Makhachev gained almost 20 pounds after UFC 322 weigh-ins.
Shocked. Arman Tsarukyan ‘shocked’ by Islam Makhachev’s impressive UFC 322 win.
P4P. Javier Mendez: Islam Makhachev ‘proved that he belongs as No. 1 pound-for-pound’ at UFC 322.
Drugs. UFC strawweight Iasmin Lucindo fails drug test, blames tainted supplement.
Boxing. Tony Ferguson books interim title defense for Misfits Boxing card in Dubai.
VIDEO STEW
Arman Tsarukyan interview.
UFC Qatar Media Day.
Dricus du Plessis before and after his loss to Khamzat Chimaev.
Joanna Champion would return for a ‘BMF’ fight.
FLAVOR IN YOUR EAR
No Bets Barred.
SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
Sean O’Malley and Jake Paul.
Yeah he is.
Respect.
Pretty wild.
Also pretty wild.
Now we know.
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Taylor Lapilus (22-4) vs. Liam Gittins (13-4); PFL Lyon, Dec. 13.
Paulina Wisniewska (6-0) vs. Sabrinna de Sousa (4-0); PFL Lyon, Dec. 13.
Patrick Habirora (7-0) vs. Kevin Joussey (10-4); PFL Lyon, Dec. 13.
Gustavo Oliveira (11-2) vs. Movsar Ibragimov (7-0); PFL Lyon, Dec. 13.
Rayan Balbali (1-0) vs. Levi Batchelor (2-0); PFL Lyon, Dec. 13.
Asael Adjoudj (10-1) vs. Frederik Dupras (9-2); PFL Lyon, Dec. 13.
Boris Mbarga Atangana (7-0) vs. Guilherme Soares (17-7); PFL Lyon, Dec. 13.
Connor Hughes (12-2) vs. Aleksandr Chizov (12-3); PFL Lyon, Dec. 13.
Dean Garnett (14-3-1) vs. Baris Adiguzel (9-1); PFL Lyon, Dec. 13.
FINAL THOUGHTS
That story from Usman is scary. I got a concussion playing rugby once where I took a knee to the temple, and I had a coming to moment like that, but it was only a few minutes afterward (I was still playing the game, albeit poorly). Losing a half hour of your actual cognitive function? Terrifying.
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