Kamaru Usman explains why he always adopts the mindset of a 'challenger'

UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman has explained why he sees himself as the challenger when he competes.

Throughout the course of the last few years there has been one man standing head and shoulders above the rest at 170 pounds – and his name is Kamaru Usman. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ is quite easily one of the most dominant fighters in all of mixed martial arts and after successfully defending his title five times, you could make the argument that he’s beginning to contend for ‘welterweight GOAT’ status alongside Georges St-Pierre.

Of course, he still has some work to do in order to get there, but the 35-year-old is certainly on the right path.

It takes a great deal of courage to get into the Octagon regardless of whether or not you hold the gold but at his level, it’s particularly daunting to know the world is watching to see if you can match the incredibly high standards you’ve set for yourself.

In a recent interview, Usman explained how he deals with that pressure.

“I’m going to be honest, when those older fighters say that, I understand what they say when they say that, I completely understand what they are saying. When you get there, you would think, oh you are now a champion everything else is smoother. No, that’s not the case at all,” Usman said.

“The pressure continues to build because with each and every fight there is more and more riding on it. For me, it’s just a matter of I don’t think of myself as, hey I’m the champ and I’m going out there to defend the belt. For me, I’m a challenger each and every time I step in there. 

"I don't think of myself as the champ.. I think of myself as the challenger every time I step in the cage because the challenger is always the hungriest" ~@USMAN84kg#PMSLive