Kamaru Usman credits Colby Covington for being a 'great dance partner'

Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman says rival Colby Covington brought the best out of him.

Usman (20-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC) was pushed to the brink twice by Covington in their title fights but outlasted him to emerge victorious. Usman scored a late TKO of Covington in their first fight in November 2019, then dropped him twice in their rematch en route to a unanimous decision win at UFC 268.

But it wasn’t just Covington’s skills that Usman had to deal with. Covington pulled no punches when building up their fight, which “The Nigerian Nightmare” appreciates in hindsight.

“I say it all the time, and I know people can’t believe the fact that I would  actually go, ‘Credit to Colby Covington,'” Usman said on the “Weighing In” podcast. “I used to hear it all the time where people say, ‘You need a dance partner. You need a great dance partner.’ And he was that.

“In that fight, in that first fight, it was so much tension to where it challenged me so much to prepare, to train, and to go out there and just get locked into the zone. It was almost addicting, that zone where I don’t care what happens.”

Usman finds himself chirping back-and-forth with welterweight champion Belal Muhammad, which he previously admitted has lit a fire under him. Currently on a three-fight losing skid, Usman explained how self-motivation is ultimately what matters most.

“That’s a great thing (rival) to have,” Usman said. “For me, I always learned very early on that I’m very self-motivated. I am. But I learned very early on that it’s a fight against myself. I always want to prove myself wrong, and a lot of these fights it was me shocking myself that, ‘Wow, I really was able to do that. I really fought the battle in my mind to do that.'”