Kamaru Usman has offered rare praise to UFC rival Colby Covington, insisting he "brought the best" out of him in their two fights.
Usman was on a hugely positive win-streak in the UFC welterweight division before he was brutally knocked out by Leon Edwards who snatched his 170lb title. The Nigerian star attempted to win back his crown back in March but once again came out on the losing side having this time fallen short on the judges scorecards.
The former champion will now need a rebuild his career if he is to return to the top of the division. Usman has stepped in the octagon in some epic battles including against two-time rival Covington, with the pair considered each other's biggest rivals.
And the 35-year-old has admitted that he was excited by the prospect of standing up and fighting against Covington as opposed to his favoured approach of using his elite wrestling skills. "I went through a similar situation where I was dominating guys and would win every time," Usman said regarding a potential fight between boxers Errol Spence and Terence Crawford during an appearance on Mike Tyson's Hotboxin' podcast.
"Then you get the right dance partner which for me was Colby Covington. He is a dance partner for anybody, there was so much to build up that fight. It was just something about that fight, some you just want to fight and we are both high-level wrestlers. We just made a mental agreement with each other that we were not wrestling. Our spirits made a mental agreement.
"I left that fight, I was swollen and bruised up and you saw instantly what that dance partner brought out. I think these boxers need each other, same as me and Colby did. I remember just walking through a casino and I couldn't walk through without people everywhere. But all of these fights are now starting to pop up for people."
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It is expected Covington will now leap above Usman in the pecking order and take on the challenge of British star Edwards in a potential title bout later this year. 'Rocky' has suggested he is not overly keen on entertaining the challenge of the American, but UFC president Dana White is likely to arrange the contest anyway.
It remains unclear what could be next for the 'The Nigerian Nightmare' who has admitted he finds himself unfamiliar territory after back-to-back defeats. "I don't say to say I'm in a weird spot but it's kind of unfamiliar territory," Usman continued.
""I got into the sport and it was just like 'I'm gonna be the champion' that's it. There wasn't another plan, it was just 'I'm going to be the champion one day'. That was always it for me, but then I got there and I was like 'This is cool'. It just grew more and more."
