Kamaru Usman is cozy where he’s at in the front of the line and next up to receive a welterweight title shot at reigning champion Tyron Woodley, and he’s not going to apologize for being there.
UFC 235 takes place on March 2 in Las Vegas Nevada from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the co-main event, reigning champion Tyron Woodley will defend his welterweight championship against Kamaru Usman, but most people expected a different opponent for Woodley, that being one Colby Covington, who shared the same expectations. Many fans and media members have asked about Covington, including at the UFC 235 Press Conference, and there continues to be a residue of “Chaos” whenever the upcoming fight between Usman and Woodley is discussed. But the outside noise of the fans who would prefer to see Covington in his place does not bother Usman at all.
“I don’t really care,” Usman said in an ESPN interview about the fans who wanted Woodley vs. Covington. “It’s not a matter of what I want or what they want. If I got it the way I wanted it, I would have been fighting for the title months ago. I would have been the champ by now. So it’s kind of how the cookie crumbled. This is the situation that we’re in, and you gotta run with it.”
Kamaru Usman has done his share of waiting and hard work to earn the opportunity, now stringing together nine consecutive UFC victories, the longest in the welterweight division. After doing everything in his power to earn a title shot, including cutting weight to serve as an alternate for UFC 228’s main event between Tyron Woodley and Darren Till, Usman’s patience and hard work has finally paid off:
“One of the biggest things that I always said in my career is that I wanted to be that guy who was ready so that when that door opened up, I was prepared. I’m not gonna be the guy who, when the opportunity presents itself, I’m not ready. I’ve always been ready. And now, the opportunity’s here, and I’m ready to be the new welterweight champion of the world.”
What are your thoughts on Kamaru Usman’s response to fans who preferred Colby Covington as Tyron Woodley’s next opponent?
