Kamaru Usman was once on Dana White’s list of publicly berated fighters, but all it takes is one performance to turn that around. In the main event of The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale, Kamaru Usman picked up the dominant performance over Rafael dos Anjos, and Dana White was right there to see the whole thing and was as impressed as the viewers at home:
“Yeah, I’ve been talking a lot of smack about him in his last several fights because I feel like he talks too much and doesn’t do enough in the Octagon,” Dana White said in a media scrum following TUF 28. “Well, he looked damn good tonight. He went in and delivered. He was punching harder in the fifth round than he was in the first round. Punching, kicking, wrestling, the whole thing was impressive.”
Tyron Woodley vs. Colby Covington appeared to be a lock for 2019, with UFC 233 being the primary target for the bout, but Kamaru Usman’s steamroll of Rafael dos Anjos may have pumped the breaks on those plans, according to Dana White.
“I’d like to see him fight Woodley now after seeing that. Listen, Colby Covington pulled out of the fight, didn’t defend his belt…this, that, the whole thing. I’m one of those guys…when I just see a fight like this, I want to see Usman fight now. We’ll see what happens, though.”
When asked about the public perception that Covington was guaranteed a shot at Woodley, Dana White replied with a maxim for the fans to remember:
“Nothing’s guaranteed in life, man. Nothing’s guaranteed in life.”
Which fight do you think makes more sense for Tyron Woodley next? Kamaru Usman or Colby Covington?
