Already a very active UFC champion, Kamaru Usman will now potentially take an active role in producing the next generation of Nigerian athletes.
Recently, Kamaru Usman went back to his native country of Nigeria for the first time in many years and received a greeting that was every bit as warm as you might imagine it would be.
After shaking hands, celebrating, and delivering meals to those in attendance, Usman had the opportunity to address the exuberant crowd (h/t punchng.com).
“I am happy to be here and it’s a pleasure to be back home,” Usman said. Coming home has been at the back of my mind and I am proud to be from Auchi, Edo State. I have been in America for long and feel so compelled to represent the country; I feel compelled to carry on the pride.
“It’s been a while and I have been waiting to come back home and hopefully, will come home more frequently,” he added.
And return more frequently is exactly what Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki has in mind for Nigeria’s own Kamaru Usman. In fact, he would love nothing more than to collaborate with Usman to help build a new generation of Nigerian Nightmares.
“You are a role model to the younger generation to emulate,” Obaseki told Usman. “We will continue to support people like you because you can be a promoter of sports for the state. You are someone to look up to in the state and nation at large…
“As a state, we will collaborate with you and continue to support you. Our administration is working hard to combine education with sports, which prompted us to ensure reforms of the education and sports sectors. We would like to partner with you to see how you can join us and make champions out of our youths.”
Kamaru Usman won the UFC welterweight championship from Tyron Woodley at UFC 235 in 2019 and hasn’t looked back. He has extended his career win streak to 18 and has broken UFC’s consecutive welterweight streak at 14, previously held by Canada’s Georges St-Pierre.
Usman had hoped that his African homecoming would be centered around a historic UFC Africa event, particularly to celebrate the continent’s three UFC champions: himself, middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, and heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. Usman did state that there is still a strong possibility that such an event can take place as early as next year based on what he’s heard from Dana White and other company executives.
