KEY POINTS

  • Kamaru Usman is the UFC's current pound-for-pound king
  • Usman has clarified a few things in his recent issue with "haters" frequently trolling
  • "The Nigerian Nightmare" has named two possible opponents

While waiting for his next challenger, UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman has addressed a sensitive issue involving his name.

Fans have been a huge part of sports and it certainly applies to the sport of MMA.

Through social media, fans get the chance to connect to athletes and at times, let them know what they truly feel about them.

Take Usman’s recent experience as an example. The reigning UFC pound-for-pound king has become a hot subject of discussion after being criticized over a powerful message he sent to some of his frequent Snapchat trolls that apparently went overboard.

In it, Usman bluntly told them to go “choke yourself” and “kill yourself.”

Aware that it will surely cause a stir, “The Nigerian Nightmare” made a few clarifications about it a few hours later.

According to Usman, there’s a good chance that he might have “typed it the wrong way” as it was already late.

However, he stood firm on his stance about putting the “haters” in their place.

“Let me clear this up,” Usman said as quoted by MMA News. “I know that was tough. Hey, it was 4 AM in the morning, which is a little slizurp’d. And obviously, I typed it the wrong way.”

“Let me rephrase this,” he continued. “For that hater, you know who you are. That particular haters, one of you or maybe two of you, that keeps watching my story so you could have something to say with hate on. Choke yourself, this is me saying it now choke yourself. But for the rest of my fans, my actual real fans, I love and appreciate you guys. I always have and always will.”

Indeed, Usman has been having quite a successful run in his career.

His UFC 268 victory over Colby Covington saw him marking his 19th professional win in a row and fifth straight UFC title defense.

It is yet to be determined who Usman will take on next, but based on his previous statement, he sees top welterweight contenders Vicente Luque and Leon Edwards as possible opponents.

However, he also stressed that both “have got to step up” and prove that they rightfully deserve a title shot.

“These guys have got to step up and show the world that, ‘Hey, I’m that next guy,’” Usman said in November. “Right now, they’re kind of right there in the fold, trying to break through and I’m just gonna sit back and let these guys break through and make a case for themselves.”

Kamaru Usman
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - FEBRUARY 13: In this handout image provided by UFC, Kamaru Usman of Nigeria reacts after his victory over Gilbert Burns of Brazil in their UFC welterweight championship fight during the UFC 258 event at UFC APEX on February 13, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)