Kamaru Usman is responding to the post-fight jabs he received from Conor McGregor following UFC 278.
It was just a couple of weeks ago that Kamaru Usman (20-2 MMA) was defeated by Leon Edwards (20-3 MMA) via KO at 4:04 of the 5th round at UFC 278. The welterweight crown went to Edwards.
It was reported that Usman’s five-year-old daughter Samirah had to be escorted out of the venue as she was sobbing inconsolably after seeing her father get brutally knocked out with the head kick from Edwards.
McGregor weighed in on ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’s’ loss and stressed his belief that fighters shouldn’t bring their families to the fights.
Taking to ‘Twitter’, McGregor commented on the match:
“Not even a relatively high kick. Fully leaned into his own death. One leaned his way to victory. Another leaned his way to death. Crazy sport, I love!”
Conor also took the opportunity to comment on the fact that Usman’s daughter had to be removed from the arena after seeing her dad hit the floor tweeting:
“I feel this deep. I do not suggest bringing family whatsoever. Especially the children. This is different fighting. I’ve done both sides of this and feel going to the mission solo is best. You can see family again post battle. Will definitely be continuing this way going forward.”
In response to McGregor’s comments, Kamaru Usman had this to say to Joe Rogan on the ‘JRE MMA Show’ podcast (h/t Sportskeeda):
“Like he broke his leg. Even when he broke his leg, I didn’t kick him when he was down. That’s a very tough injury. I almost felt for him. I almost wanted to send him a message and say, ‘Hey man, heal up, you’ll be back’. That’s just kind of who I am. This is a sport. It’s a f***ing sport. At the end of the day, you’re still a human being. If I saw you on the side of the road and you needed help or something was wrong, if I could I would 100% try to help.”
The Irishman (22-6 MMA) did indeed break his leg during his fight with Dustin Poirier (28-7 MMA) at UFC 264 in July of 2021. McGregor has not entered the Octagon since, but is believed to be targeting a 1st quarter of 2023 return to the cage.
Do you agree with Usman that McGregor shouldn’t kick and man when he’s down? Are you looking forward to the trilogy fight between Usman and Edwards?
Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!