UFC 278: Kamaru Usman 1-on-1 with Kevin Iole

Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole interviews Kamaru Usman ahead of the UFC welterweight champion's rematch versus Leon Edwards on Saturday at UFC 278 in Salt Lake City. Usman talks about his brother Mohammed Usman winning "The Ultimate Fighter," how he's evolved since his first fight with Edwards back in 2015 and if he's seriously considering a move up to light heavyweight for a shot at the belt.

Video Transcript

KEVIN IOLE: Hey, everybody. I am Kevin Iole. Welcome to Yahoo Sports. And my guest now, you may know his brother. His brother is the tough 30 season heavyweight champion. And of course, my guest happens to be Mr. Kamaru Usman. Kamaru, how are you?

KAMARU USMAN: I am good. Fight week, festivities as usual. So I'm happy.

KEVIN IOLE: People still remembering you after your brother, kind of with that big knockout and created all those headlines?

KAMARU USMAN: No. People are starting to-- I'm walking down the street now and people are starting to recognize me a little bit and they're like, hey. You're Usman's brother, Muhammad's brother. Like yeah, that's me. That's me.

KEVIN IOLE: What was that like for you, though? You went through that yourself, winning the Ultimate Fighter. To know how difficult that is to win. One of the hardest tournaments to win, any kind of tournament like that. What was that like for you to see Muhammad do what he did?

KAMARU USMAN: It feels good. I mean, I think it's something that he kind of needed. I think he kind of juggled with-- well my perspective, it was almost juggling in the sport of, how-- where do I find my lane, and how can I get this done? Or can I get this done? And the one thing about that tournament is, it's not just competition, athletic competition, but it's almost-- it's a social experiment as well.

So to be able to handle all of that and juggle it all and come out on top and still win based on all the emotions, the things that are going on in life and with the guys in the house and still be victorious in the finale is-- that's a good tale of guys to come, and what's to come from it.

KEVIN IOLE: What I wanted to talk to you about, obviously, is your fight Saturday against Luke Rockhold. But there's so much to talk to you about. I mean, it's Luke Rockhold. I'm sorry. I want to talk to you about your fight against Leon Edwards. Luke Rockhold in the co-main event. I'm sorry about that, at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City.

When you fought in 2015, you won a unanimous decision but there wasn't much striking from you. It was a lot of wrestling, a lot of grappling. You've evolved now, and I think you're on the most strikes landed list in the all time UFC record. So how do you think that changes it, the fact that you have evolved so much and added so much to your game since that first fight?

KAMARU USMAN: I mean, it's changed a lot. Just goes to attest to the growth of myself as a mixed martial artist. And to be honest with you, Kevin, even in that first fight, I outstruck Leon Edwards. You can go look at the stats. I definitely outstruck him. I landed the biggest shots of the fight, just striking.

So even then, I had a little bit of striking. But like I was learning on the job. That was my-- I was being-- I'd been doing the sport for less than three years at that time. And so I was still learning on the job. And he had been in the sport for over five years. And so yeah, he's gotten a lot better.

His grappling has improved greatly. But so is my grappling, and so is my strike as well. So I think this is going to be-- it's going to be what it's supposed to be. And that is a fight with two of the best mixed martial artists on the planet.

KEVIN IOLE: He has won nine in a row since that fight, you have won 13 in a row as part of a 19 fight winning streak. What, to you, is your greatest accomplishment? You're on the verge of tying Anderson Silver for the longest winning streak in the UFC. You win this fight on Saturday, you've got 16 consecutive wins.

That ties the UFC records. Is that the one that means the most to you, or is there another record out there that you look at and say, this is where I want to leave my legacy.

KAMARU USMAN: So for me personally, I'm going to be honest with you. What is my biggest accomplishment is the fact that I've been the same since the start, as far as how I work for these, how I prepare for these fights. I prepare just as rigorous for this fight as I did the first Leon Edwards fights.

The next fight after that and the fight after that and the fight after that and the fight after that, which is what's gotten me to this point. I think that's what I'm the most proud of is my ability to still continue to train like that. I try to leave no stone unturned when I prepare for these guys, which is why I believe I get the result that I get.

And so as long as I'm able to continue to do that, that's what I'm really the most proud of. Because anyone could go into a fight and not really prepare, land a lucky punch and win the fight. But for me, I go into a fight confident in knowing that I'm going to be victorious because of the work that I've put in.

I put my body through the ringer. And so that's what gives me that confidence, and that's what I'm the most proud of.

KEVIN IOLE: One of the things since I've gotten to know you that I think is a strength of yours that doesn't get talked about a lot is this, and you seem to have the mind for the game in that you're able to adjust and adapt and you don't let things kind of get you off guard. You know, I talk to some fighters and sometimes they explain away a loss by, hey, they lost their cool where they weren't able to focus on what the plan was.

How do you manage to keep yourself so even-keeled, and always able to deal with any kind of distractions that pop up either before or during a fight?

KAMARU USMAN: There's lots of distraction. That's a good question. There's lots of distractions, a lot of things that happen that does, of course, eventually-- that does maybe plague me a little bit, that doesn't get in my mind. I know in the beginning of the sport, I hated the fact that now, you know instantly, you got haters.

You got people who just wake up just to down you or talk down on you. It bothered me a little bit. But I got-- this is life. You continue to grow and grow and grow. And for me, I think one of the biggest things that keeps me who I am is that no one was with me when I was in high school, when I was 14 years old and I had to make weight and I would put trash bags on and just go run.

You know, no one was with me when I'm at a camp and I know that I have-- we're training for the junior national duals and I'm just like, you know what, in order for me to have a better chance to win, I have to get up and go run. Or I need to put trash bags on, make a sauna in my own bathroom, and waste all the hot water in my-- have my brothers, my mom and dad yell at me wasting all the hot water because I need to get a little bit of weight off.

No one was with me then. I went through each and every one of those process. I know that in my head. I went through that pain alone. So when we would get inside there and things were going on or people are saying things that people are doing, it doesn't bother me. Because I've been through the things in my head that they would never understand and they never have gone through.

So with all that, that's what gives me the confidence. And some people think, oh well, you're being cocky or you're being-- no I'm not. I'm stating, each and every time, I state what can-- what I will do. And I go out there and I do it.

KEVIN IOLE: Was there ever a point that you had to deal with the pressure of family members. You know, you're becoming successful. You're becoming famous. Your cousin here needs money, a cousin there needs help. Whatever. Like I know you took care of your immediate family, right?

I mean, that's been well documented. But have you ever had that other thing where all of a sudden some relatives maybe weren't so close to you came out and you had to kind of fight them off and say, hey look, I'm doing my thing here.

KAMARU USMAN: Well I think there's always going to be a little bit of that when someone becomes successful, especially being from where I'm from. When you're successful, everyone-- they feel successful because they take pride and joy in you. So you're always going to deal with that.

But that's kind of how-- that's kind of how we're raised. That's what we were raised on. Because when you're raised, especially being from Nigeria, you're not just raised by yourself. It takes a village. That's really where that expression comes from. It takes a village to keep you on the right path, to raise you.

So when you get to a position to where you can help, you can make a difference, we definitely do it. And you know, and I try to do it. Now the real test it's the balance of how to do it and still somewhat keep yourself afloat. So, you know, life is life. Life is a journey. And we're going through it each and every day and trying to find that balance and make sure that you don't kill yourself or break your own back trying to help everyone.

KEVIN IOLE: I want to ask you two questions about Leon. One, did you have any inkling, any sense at all, that you would see this guy down the road when you fought him in 2015? Did you look at him as, hey, this guy is good and I'm going to see him again?

KAMARU USMAN: I would say a little bit, yeah. I had a little inkling because he was tough. And I remember preparing for the fight and I was like, man, this guy's tough. All right, here we go. We'll just grind like we normally grind and we'll go in there and try to be dominant and victorious like we planned to be.

So yeah, I had a little inkling like, man, that guy was tough. But for me, I was worried about where I wanted to get to. I wasn't worried about the top. I was worried about, who's the next guy? Who can I fight to elevate me? So in worrying about that, I didn't really worry about Leon.

But of course, he's such a small unit. Not only are you in the UFC, but you're in the welterweight division which also shrinks it and shrinks it and then it's this guy. So of course, I hear about him and I see his successes. And you know, and I appreciate it. I appreciate all the work that he's put in. I appreciate how he's worked hard and elevated himself to get to this point.

You know, I respect it. And I definitely see him and I give him that respect. But when we step in there, there's a reason I am the best and I have to show him that this Saturday.

KEVIN IOLE: He said something to me the other day that I thought it made sense, but I want to get your take on it. He talked about when he had that long time off, he didn't see it as a negative. He saw it as a positive because he got to practice every day and improve his skills but he wasn't taken punishment in fights.

And he mentioned the part that, hey, you fought Colby Covington and you took punishment and you had a lot of fights where you got beaten up a little bit. So I guess the intimation would be you're not the same as you might have been a while back. How do you react to hearing that?

KAMARU USMAN: No, it's great. I'm glad he thinks that. If anyone's ever been an athlete, we know that practice is practice. No one gives a shit what you can do a practice. If you're not out there doing it against the best in the world time and time again then how do you know where your level really is?

So it is what it is. I'm glad he got that time off. I'm glad he's healed up, he's strong. The one thing about that, though, is he has to be careful. Because you feel that and that's gassing you up. You feel jazzed up about that. But what happens when this guy that's been in wars, that has taken punishment, as you said, comes out and dominates you again?

How do you feel about that? And how bad does that break you on the inside as a man?

KEVIN IOLE: Interesting. We'll have to see what happens there. I want to ask you one or two other questions. Obviously you're going to be in a movie, so I wanted you to tell me about that. But like--

KAMARU USMAN: I hear.

KEVIN IOLE: I said I want you to tell me about it. So-- but you know, you're starting to get the fruits of your labor. Like you're seeing the outside the Octagon stuff happening right now, you know, where like a lot of fighters have done that, right? What does that mean to you to be able to all of a sudden now be able to take your life to another level, where you can do some fun things like being in a movie and doing things that make you money just off of your accomplishments as a fighter.

KAMARU USMAN: It means a tremendous amount, because I'm not this person-- when I wasn't this person, when you weren't here, I only dreamed of being here. And when you think and you plan and you only-- as a kid when you only think, man, I would love to be that guy. I would love to be there. I would love to be able to help my family out.

I would love to be able to do this or do that or be respected for this or that. You just dream of that. And to actually put the work in and work and work and work and work and get to the point where now it's starting to happen, I mean, it's motivating for me. The thing about me, and I think that's what makes me a little different than a lot of people, is that success motivates me.

It drives me, fuels me. So does competition, and so does my family. You know, that drives me. That fuels me. So nowadays, that's kind of been the theme of this week. I'm getting all this-- I'm hearing all this, oh, he's Hollywood now. He's not-- he's not this and that. Joke's on you.

Because by being Hollywood, that fuels me even more. That drives me. That lets you know you're doing something right, keep going. That fuels me. So it's funny that people are saying that. It's like they're connecting that connotation with something negative. Oh, he's Hollywood now. For me, it's positive.

Oh, that means you're letting me know that I'm making it. I'm doing the right things. So I let them all, let them keep saying that. Because guess what? When I was in college eating Little Caesars Pizza for two, three days and I didn't have money, all I was able to dream of going to nice steakhouses and wearing some really, really nice silk shirts and things like that and the jewelry.

And guess what? I've worked my ass off to get to the point where now I can do that, and I'm enjoying it. I'm enjoying it. But they better not make that mistake and think that now because I'm here, I stopped working.

KEVIN IOLE: Last thing, and I'm so happy-- you know, I love it when fighters who put so much work in and they take so much risk have the rewards that you have. And so I'm happy to see for you that you have that and you're enjoying your life that you have. There's something that you put out a photo a while back of you and Jan Blachowicz, the former light heavyweight champion.

I don't know if you were serious, goofing around. It looked like it was kind of two guys goofing around a little bit. Although Jan's not much of a joking guy, right? You know, he's kind of a serious dude. You can't possibly be thinking of fighting at light heavyweight. And if you are, why?

KAMARU USMAN: See that's the thing is that since you know me, Kevin, how-- if you know me they just joke around and throw certain things out, I'm a fun guy. I'm a serious guy as well. I was extremely serious when I went to fight Canelo Alvarez. And I'm extremely serious about going up and taking that 205 pound belt.

I don't care how big they are. Being pound for pound, for me, is the definition of understanding that if they put your skill set in anyone in any weight class, you will best them. And yeah, why not? It'd be a fun fight. Fun fight for me, be a fun fight for whoever the champion is, whether it's Jan, whether it's Yuri.

It'll be a fight for them. You know, they're going to make the biggest payday. And quite possibly, I might make the biggest payday. So I am very, very serious when I say that. And depending on how froggy I'm feeling this Saturday, you know, God willing I get the job done. I might want to go ahead and take you know, Jan out to the woodshed and we duke it out in November.

KEVIN IOLE: Oh.

KAMARU USMAN: So we never know.

KEVIN IOLE: It's always good to have two Nigerians on one card. You know [INAUDIBLE] is fighting in November.

KAMARU USMAN: Hey, hey. What's better than one Nigerian on the card?

KEVIN IOLE: Two. There we go. Well that is the Nigerian Nightmare right there, my friend. Kamaru Usman. Kamaru, best of luck to you on Saturday. Appreciate your time. Thank you so much.

KAMARU USMAN: Thank you, Kevin. I appreciate you.