Kamaru Usman has some frank advice for the participants of the new season of The Ultimate Fighter.
Tonight, the 29th season of The Ultimate Fighter will kick off on ESPN+ after a three-year absence. Fans can now once again begin to wonder who will be the next Michael Bisping, Tony Ferguson, Nate Diaz, Rashad Evans, etc. But no fighter on the list of illustrious names to emerge from the TUF house as the last man standing has had a run quite like Kamaru Usman’s.
The winner of the 21st season of The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians, Usman has been a Nightmare problem for every opponent he’s come in contact with. Yet to lose a single fight inside the Octagon, Usman has compiled the longest consecutive win streak in the history of the welterweight division, very rarely losing a single round during this remarkable six-year stint.
With such a unique and distinguished résumé established, Kamaru Usman is a luminary for any young fighter looking to achieve big things after exiting the TUF house. Speaking to ESPN recently, Usman took the time to offer some sage advice to the new cast of prospects.
“My advice to future competitors: First and foremost, make sure this is something you want,” Usman said. “Because something that this competition is notorious for doing is weeding out those who just say they want to be a fighter as opposed to the ones who truly want to be fighters and they live, eat, and breathe this. And so make sure this is what you want to do. And if it is what you want to do, control what you can control.”
Suffice it to say, Usman is offering this advice from direct experience. The welterweight champion says that being a fighter is about more than competing inside a cage or even putting up with a house full of strangers. It’s about building good habits that permeate your daily life.
“On the show, I was able to control my eating habits. I wanted to be a fighter,” Usman said. “I wanted to do this. So I had to make sure my eating habits matched what I was saying. Also, controlling my training habits and the things that I could control. And if you’re able to do that, at the end of the day, you go out there, and you put your best foot forward, and those are all recipes for success.”
The new season of The Ultimate Fighter premieres tonight, June 1, 2021, at 9PM ET exclusively on ESPN+.
