Athletes
Mohammed Usman Is Still Learning, Still Growing
A Clear-Minded, Humble Approach To His Career Has Mohammed Usman Primed For Success As He Looks To Bounce Back At UFC Fight Night: Lemos vs Jandiroba.
For a fighter to win The Ultimate Fighter and embark on a career in the UFC, it would be easy to think that they've already made it. But that's not Mohammed Usman's mindset.
Usman, the younger, but bigger, brother of former UFC welterweight champion and pound-for-pound great Kamaru Usman, has a fascinating combination of steely-eyed determination and well-grounded humility that has already taken him to an 11-3 record and a spot on the sport's biggest stage, despite turning pro with no amateur experience whatsoever.
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It's meant that the fighter known as "Motor" has effectively been learning on the job ever since he made his pro debut at Tachi Palace back in 2017. Since then, he's steadily improved his skillset and, after earning a spot in the 30th season of The Ultimate Fighter, took home the heavyweight honors courtesy of a second-round knockout of Zac Pauga in August 2022.
Fast forward two years to the present day and Usman is ready to make the walk for his fifth fight in the UFC as he looks to rebound from his first loss under the UFC lights.
That loss came against England's Mick Parkin in a closely contested battle. It's a result that still stings Usman, who credited his opponent, but bemoaned his own shortcomings on a night that ultimately left him frustrated.
"Man, that was a tough fight," he admitted.
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"Kudos to my opponent, he had a great game plan (and) he stuck to it.
"I definitely came to fight, like I do every fight. And, you know, there's a lot of ways to win and a lot of ways to lose, and you take the wins for what they are, and you take the losses for what they are, as well."
The ability to remove emotion from proceedings and unpack losses after the fact is a key learning opportunity for fighters, who use the knowledge gained from defeats to close holes in their game or implement new strategies to prevent similar outcomes in future fights. After Usman sat down and assessed what went wrong against Parkin, his lesson was clear.
"Man, of course, you're sad, you're down. That last fight, it took a lot out of me, because you put a lot into your training camps, you put a lot into just getting your body physically ready for competition.," he explained.
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"In that last fight, I felt like I let myself down, because I had so much more in the tank.
"That's the number one thing that I've learned about this game – if it's three rounds, or if it's five rounds, if I'm walking back to the locker room after a fight, and I still have energy to go three rounds, I'm disappointed in myself, because I did not leave it all out there in the Octagon.
"There is no reason for me to be feeling this good walking into the locker room. I should be crawling to the locker room, and that's my mindset. I should not be feeling like I can just go another three rounds after being in the cage. So I felt like I really let myself down, because I left something in the tank. And you can't afford to do that in the sport."
Usman also started to make other changes to help him level up, and headed to Boca Raton, Florida's Kill Cliff FC, where a room full of killers has helped push him, test him, and help him to grow in preparation for the challenges ahead.
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"You're tested by tougher opponents, you're tested by guys that don't go easy on you, and you get used to hitting that red line and crossing it," Usman explained.
"So I'm definitely very well versed in hitting that red line and in going past the red line, so I'm ready to go."
The gym switch has also led to a change in his mental approach, as he now finds himself in a packed room of fighters whose experience far exceeds his own. It's that realization that he has to fight up to meet the level of his training partners that has helped him grow as a fighter, both physically and mentally.
"It's like going back to school, it's like just being one of the guys again," he explained.
"I'm not the top guy in the gym, I'm not even close. I'm just one of the guys that's just trying to get better, that's just in the gym, getting beat up with all these good guys, good heavyweights, they have left and right. Guys like Linton Vassell, all these guys, are beating me up, but I keep going and I feel like that's where you see improvements in our game, when you can go and test it against the best guys."
That humility has helped Usman to continue his development as a fighter, and he said that he's been happy with how things have progressed to date. He said he'd grade his UFC career so far as a "B," and explained that the fights he's had, and the styles he's been presented with, have been "tremendously" beneficial for him as he continues to expand his skillset.
"I've definitely fought through some tough opponents, and I feel like, ultimately, I've been on a good route," he said.
"I'm finding the right opponents, they've given me the right guys. They're building me the right way. And I'm grateful.
"Now I'm evaluating it, I can see that I'm ready for every type of look. Whatever the guy is going to come out here to do, I've seen it. So I'm prepared to go. I'm ready, I'm strapped in. Let's go to work."
On Saturday night at UFC Fight Night: Lemos vs. Jandiroba at the UFC APEX, Usman will take on Contender Series graduate Thomas Petersen, who is chasing his first UFC victory after losing a decision to Jamal Pogues on his Octagon debut in February. It's a matchup in which Usman expects to face a very specific test.
"A lot of those other guys could wrestle, but he's primarily a wrestler," he stated.
"I fought Jake Collier, he was a good wrestler. Even my last opponent could wrestle because I've seen him grapple in a couple of fights. But this guy is primarily a wrestler, 100 percent a wrestler, Minnesota wrestler.
"So you know his number one thing he's coming to do is wrestle. Of course, he's gonna fight, because we start with our hands, but his number one thing he's coming to do is wrestle. So it pushes you to go to a different level, because wrestlers are tough, man. My brother's a wrestler, so you know that they're gritty, and they're very tough. So it just really puts my mindset in a different perspective of exactly how I'm going to address this guy."
Usman knows he's not the finished article, and he's clearly enjoying the journey of improvement and development as he tests himself in the gym every day, then puts those skills to use on fight night inside the Octagon. And, as he gets ready to step back into competition to show the latest version of himself this weekend, he said those watching will see the difference from the Usman that lost to Parkin back in March.
"The fans are gonna notice my evolution in the sport," he said.
"I felt like, going from The Ultimate Fighter Finale to this fight now, I've made drastic improvements in my game. I keep reiterating, but people don't really fully grasp, I never did any amateur fights – I just went straight pro. So every day when I fight, I'm learning.
"Of course, I can knock guys out, but I'm learning to fight. Every day that I step into the Octagon, I'm getting better. I'm just building my cage awareness, building my time in there. So I feel like I'm just way more calm now under chaos. I can thrive in chaos, and I can be in there. And I'm excited."
And that improvement, Usman says, will help power him to victory on Saturday night. "Motor" is aware of the challenge ahead of him, but he's well prepared, well drilled, and ready to not just win, but win impressively.
"This is the UFC. Everybody's gritty. Everybody's tough. Everybody's strong," he said.
"He's coming off a loss, so you know how that is. He's gonna come hard. I'm gonna come hard. Nobody wants to lose, but styles make fights and I feel like I'm gonna be a lot to handle in there. I'm gonna come with everything and be ready for everything. And I'll be a lot to handle in that Octagon.
"I envision winning this fight by knockout – drastic fashion. And that's what I see. I'm willing to go anywhere this fight's willing to go. But I envisioned this fight. He comes in for a shot and I touch him and he goes to sleep."
UFC Fight Night: Lemos vs Jandiroba took place live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. See the Final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!