Kamaru Usman has been sizing Tyron Woodley up for years, waiting for his moment to strike. This Saturday at UFC 235, his moment will arrive.
There is no bad blood or animosity between Usman and Woodley who have always been cordial with one another, but beneath the cordiality, Usman was having thoughts that ran far deeper than small talk:
“The whole time, all I could think of was, ‘Man, I’m going to take this belt from this guy someday,’” Usman told MMAjunkie. “‘I don’t know how I’m going to do it yet … but I’m going to get the belt from that guy.’”
“I don’t think he realized it, but I always sized him up, every time.”
“My moment is here, and when we met, it just re-invigorated the thought that was in my head,” Usman said. “This is the guy that we signed up for years and years…and now the moment is here.”
Kamaru Usman is currently 9-0 in the UFC and owns a 13-fight winning streak. An argument can be made that Kamaru Usman is yet to lose a round in the UFC and has been nothing but dominant on his rise to the top. So no matter what Tyron Woodley says in public, Usman believes that Woodley knows what is awaiting him:
“Tyron knows,” Usman said. “He’s been paying attention to me for a long time, because he knew that I was going to be that guy that he was going to have to defend against. He knew that I was going to be the toughest guy that he would have to face. He and I both know that. I’m expecting a war. That’s the most I can say about it.”
UFC 235 takes place Saturday, March 2nd from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, live on Pay Per View.
Do you agree with Kamaru Usman? Is he Tyron Woodley’s toughest title defense to date?
