Kamaru Usman: Israel Adesanya’s victory shows Nigerian fighters are ahead in UFC

Kamaru Usman, UFC welterweight champion, says Israel Adesanya’s victory over Marvin Vettori shows the superiority of Nigerian fighters.

Adesanya retained his middleweight title by defeating Vettori via unanimous decision in the early hours of Sunday.

Reacting to the match, Kamaru said watching his “brother” dominate the bout gladdened him.

The ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ spoke during a press conference organised to celebrate his homecoming. 

“It felt good watching him. He did something that he’s very good with and that’s being in control and dominating the first from start to finish,” he said.

“It’s good to show everybody how far ahead we are in comparison to other guys in the UFC.”

Kamaru returned to the country of his birth on Thursday after leaving 26 years ago.

Despite the years of absence, Kamaru said he never lost touch with his roots.

“I had to represent where I was from. And after over 26 years, to finally come home, to see and touch my people, blow the pidgin that I’ve been holding for years, is fantastic and I’m truly grateful,” he said.

While in Nigeria, the 34-year-old plans to launch a corporate social responsibility (CSR) project in Edo state. 

He said his dream is to use his platform to influence Nigerian youths for the progress of the country.

“The plan is to be able to use my platform to touch the youth because as we know, Nigeria is primarily about the youth and spark and effect change that’ll move our country forward,” he said.