This middle tier of recognition, Usman said, is where he would like to stay. Still, during other instances, Usman said fans in different cities in the last eight months approached him at restaurants, so much so that his daughter asked, “‘Daddy, why do people want to take pictures with you?’” Last year, Usman said he took his 7-year-old daughter, Samirah, to a water park, and he appreciated that relatively few people interrupted him for selfies and autographs. But his résumé has not generated the mainstream stardom Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey received. Since becoming the 170-pound champion in 2019, he has defended the belt four times - three of those fights ending by knockout. In mixed martial arts circles, he is revered as one of the best. If he does, it may inhibit him from riding down water slides and amusement attractions with his daughter.įor about one minute, Usman (19-1), the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s welterweight champion, thought out loud about whether he would enjoy elevated stardom. In his profession of violently battering other fighters, Usman said he does not want to reach an upper echelon of celebrity. Kamaru Usman, one of the fiercest men on the planet, is content with the level of fame he has achieved in this bloody sport of mixed martial arts.
