Kamaru Usman responds to critics who say he’s gone “Hollywood” ahead of UFC 278

Kamaru Usman has responded to those who say he’s gone ‘Hollywood’ heading into UFC 278 this weekend.

On Saturday night, Kamaru Usman will look to maintain his place at the top of the food chain when he defends the UFC welterweight championship against Leon Edwards. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ has already successfully defended the strap five times and as he aims to make it six, many wonder whether or not a victory in Salt Lake City would vault him into the GOAT conversation.

Another bonus heading into the event is that Usman recently landed his first major acting role in the upcoming Black Panther: Wakanda Forever sequel.

When discussing that during media day, Usman wanted to make it clear where he stands.

“I was in a movie and everyone says, ‘He Hollywood now,’” Usman said. “When I was in college eating $5 Little Caesars pizza and I was surviving off of that for two days, and eating ramen noodles for a whole week, you know what I did? I dreamt of getting to a point where I didn’t have to do that. To where I could walk into any steakhouse wherever I wanted and tell my mom and dad, ‘You guys want to go there? I got you. Let’s go there. You want to fly private? I got you.’ I always dreamt of that and always wanted that. So I put the work in to get to that point. To get to the point where I wanted silk shirts. … I always wanted that.

“I put the work in and I got that. But that doesn’t stop me. I want to be bigger than Dwayne Johnson. I’m not bigger than him, so that means I need more work. So this notion of people who say, ‘You’re Hollywood now. It’s going to his head.’ If he’s thinking that, it’s the biggest misconception – it’ll be a short night for him come Saturday night.”

Quotes via MMA Junkie

Will Kamaru Usman retain the strap this weekend?