Kamaru Usman Wanted Finish At UFC on FOX 20

In an interview with MMA Junkie, Kamaru Usman (8-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) spoke about his UFC on FOX 20 win over Alexander Yakovlev (23-7-1 MMA, 2-3 UFC). Here are highlights:

On his tough win: “That mofo was tough. Man, that’s a guy that Demian Maia, one of the greatest grapplers out there right now, couldn’t get out of there. I tried everything to get him out of there, and he’s just one tough dude. He knew how to hang on, and he took it. He took it like a man. But yeah, guys like that, I knew he was going to be tough, and so I gave it everything out there.”

On not changing his strategy to make the fight more exciting: “Being exciting, you go out there and get clipped and you lose the fight, you go home with one check – and so, I want to be exciting, but I come to win every single time. Winning is the most important thing. You can be the most exciting guy in the world. If you lose, then you’re not going to stick around for very much longer. I can keep wining all the way to the bank, and I’m going to keep winning and racking up these checks, and those finishes will come.”

On praise for his opponent: “Guys like that, those are the guys I need to finish to really solidify myself as one of the top guys in this division. I knew he was going to be a tough guy, and I prepared for him. I just didn’t anticipate how tough and durable he was going to be in order to hang in there. I trained to finish him, and unfortunately, it just didn’t happen, which is why I’m a little unhappy. But I’m happy with my overall domination. Demian Maia couldn’t dominate him like that, so I’ll have to take whatever he gives me.”