Kamaru Usman: the first African-born UFC champion | Ultimate Fighter Reunion

Why fans still care

KAMARU USMAN turned wrestling into one of the most complete games welterweight has seen. He won 15 UFC fights in a row, beat everyone put in front of him for three and a half years, and is still named alongside Georges St-Pierre, Who’s Who number 21 when people argue about the best welterweight ever.

Early life

He was born on 11 May 1987 in Auchi, in Edo State, Nigeria, and moved to Texas as a child. At Bowie High School in Arlington he started wrestling as a sophomore and placed third at the state meet. After a year at William Penn University he moved to the University of Nebraska at Kearney. There he finished third at the NCAA Division II championships in 2008, second in 2009 and first in 2010. He then chased Olympic wrestling and lived and worked at the Olympic Training Center.

Getting started

He wanted a change from Olympic training. Rashad Evans introduced him to MMA and brought him to South Florida to train with the Blackzilians. “I was scared of the sport at first because it seemed uncontrolled,” he said. His professional debut came on 30 November 2012 with a TKO of David Glover at RFA 5. He lost once on the regional scene, to Jose Caceres in 2013, and then didn’t lose again for nine years.

Career chapters

1. 2012Professional debut
2. 2015Wins The Ultimate Fighter 21
3. 2019Beats Tyron Woodley for the UFC welterweight title
4. 2019 to 2021Five title defences
5. 2020Moves to Trevor Wittman’s camp in Colorado
6. 2021Fighter of the Year for CBS Sports and ESPN
7. 2022Loses the title to Leon Edwards
8. 2025Beats Joaquin Buckley in Atlanta

The climb 2015 to 2019

He won The Ultimate Fighter 21 on 12 July 2015, submitting Hayder Hassan with an arm-triangle choke. Wins followed over Leon Edwards, Sean Strickland, Who’s Who number 30, Demian Maia and Rafael dos Anjos, among others. On 2 March 2019 at UFC 235 in Las Vegas he beat Tyron Woodley over five rounds, 50-44, 50-44 and 50-45, to win the welterweight title. “I might not be the best striker in the world,” he said that night. Africanews and ESPN reported him as the first African-born UFC champion.

Champion 2019 to 2022

He defended the title five times. At UFC 245 in December 2019 he stopped Colby Covington in the fifth round, dropping him with a right and finishing with punches. In 2020 he beat Jorge Masvidal, Who’s Who number 22 on a decision. In February 2021 he stopped his former teammate Gilbert Burns in the third round. In April 2021 at UFC 261 in Jacksonville he knocked Masvidal out with a right hand in the second. That was his 14th straight UFC win, second only to Anderson Silva’s, Who’s Who number 13 16 at the time. In November 2021 he beat Covington again on a decision. CBS Sports and ESPN both named him their 2021 Fighter of the Year.

After the belt 2022 to 2026

On 20 August 2022 at UFC 278, Leon Edwards knocked him out with a left high kick and took the title, ending the 15-fight streak. Edwards beat him again on a majority decision in London in March 2023. In October 2023 he stepped up to middleweight to replace Paulo Costa against Khamzat Chimaev and lost a majority decision. On 14 June 2025 in Atlanta he beat Joaquin Buckley on all three cards, his first win since 2021. “I needed to get that monkey off my back,” he said. In July 2026 he lost a decision to Dricus du Plessis in Oklahoma City, and he has said he is weighing whether to keep fighting.

Style, technique and the corner

How he fights

He is a wrestler first. “I was merely a wrestler trying to compete in mixed martial arts,” he said of his early UFC days. He built his striking around a stiff jab and a right hand. The right dropped Covington and Burns and knocked out Masvidal. He also digs to the body, and he controls fights against the cage with takedowns. UFC.com lists his takedown defence at 90 percent.

Teams and gyms

He started with the Blackzilians in South Florida, where Henri Hooft taught him striking. In spring 2020 he moved to Trevor Wittman’s gym in Colorado for more individual attention, with Rose Namajunas, Who’s Who number 20 and Justin Gaethje among his teammates. Sherdog and ESPN now list him with Kill Cliff FC.

Stories people still tell

1. First from Africa.

   His 2019 win over Woodley was reported as the first UFC title win by an African-born fighter.

2. Sparring with Burns.

   Gilbert Burns, a former teammate, described their sparring as more than practice before they met at UFC 258.

3. The podcast.

   He co-hosts Pound 4 Pound with Henry Cejudo, Who’s Who number 18.

Legacy

He held the UFC welterweight title for three and a half years with five defences and won 15 UFC fights in a row. He is regularly named with Georges St-Pierre, Who’s Who number 21 in the debate about the best welterweight of all time.