{"id":334723,"date":"2019-12-09T19:48:12","date_gmt":"2019-12-10T03:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=334723"},"modified":"2019-12-09T19:48:12","modified_gmt":"2019-12-10T03:48:12","slug":"kamaru-usman-explains-why-he-nearly-retired-in-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/kamaru-usman-explains-why-he-nearly-retired-in-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Kamaru Usman explains why he nearly retired in 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kamaru Usman was very close to hanging up the gloves for good in 2018.<\/p>\n

Usman, who is the current UFC welterweight champion, was undefeated in the Las Vegas-based promotion yet was having a hard time getting fights. This was especially the case in 2017 and 2018. Frustration began to grow and “The Nigerian Nightmare” nearly retired from MMA.<\/p>\n

“There were moments in the UFC where I thought about quitting fighting because there were moments where I couldn’t get a fight,” Usman said to Aaron Bronsteter on the TSN MMA Show<\/a>. “I was very close. I went six or seven months of just sitting there trying to get somebody to fight. The organization said \u2018that guy turned it down, and that guy turned it down.’ And I just said \u2018You know what? There\u2019s no point.\u2019”<\/p>\n

The welterweight champion says fighters were making different excuses to not fight him. The UFC also did not force the matchups to happen. So, Usman continued to sit on the sidelines while he knew he could become the UFC welterweight champion.<\/p>\n

“Everyone made up a different excuse. \u2018He needs to beat someone in the top 10 first. He’s not a good fighter or he’s boring.\u2019 No one wanted to let me in the party,” Kamaru Usman said. \u201cThe organization was not necessarily taking the steps and the efforts to get these guys to fight me. They knew what would happen, that I would be the welterweight champion of the world. Which is what I am right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the end, Usman ended up getting fights and claimed UFC gold back in March with a dominant decision win over Tyron Woodley<\/a>. Now, in the main event of UFC 245, he will have his first title defense against bitter rival Colby Covington.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Colby<\/p>\n

For Usman, he says part of the frustration is due to the fact Covington turned down this fight several times in the past.<\/p>\n

“Part of [the frustration] was my opponent that I’m fighting. He was offered to me several times. Four times to be exact, and he’s turned them all down,” Kamaru Usman concluded.<\/p>\n

What do you make of Kamaru Usman saying he nearly retired in 2018? Sound off in the comment section, PENN Nation!<\/p>\n

This article first appeared on\u00a0<\/i>BJPENN.com<\/i><\/span><\/a>\u00a0on 12\/9\/2019.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kamaru Usman was very close to hanging up the gloves for good in 2018. Usman, who is the current UFC welterweight champion, was undefeated in the Las Vegas-based promotion yet was having a hard time getting fights. This was especially the case in 2017 and 2018. Frustration began to grow and “The Nigerian Nightmare” nearly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54463,"featured_media":305121,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[10616,39610],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nKamaru Usman explains why he nearly retired in 2018 | BJPenn.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kamaru Usman was very close to hanging up the gloves for good as speaking to TSN he revealed he nearly retired in 2018.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/kamaru-usman-explains-why-he-nearly-retired-in-2018\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kamaru Usman explains why he nearly 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