Kamaru Usman- MILITAR MINDSET
Kamaru Usman is one of the greatest mixed martial artists (MMA) at this present time. He is currently competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he reigns as the undisputed welterweight champion of the world. Born in Nigeria, Usman moved to America with his family at the age of 8.
He took a keen interest in wrestling in high school, competing all the way to college where he would become a NCAA Division II national champion. Usman is undefeated in his time during the UFC having lost just once in his whole career so far (currently his record is 19 wins and 1 loss). Usman has shown what it takes to become a UFC champion as he hopes to become a legend in the game, he has the MILITAR MINDSET!
Check out this motivational video we made, showing how Kamaru has been able to achieve the great things he has!
How has Usman displayed the MILITAR MINDSET?
Usman has been able to display his dominance on the biggest stage of them all in the UFC. His MINDSET has enabled him to reach this great position.
Born in Auchi Nigeria, Usman was born to Nigerian parents Muhammed and Portia Usman. His father would serve in the Nigerian army whilst his mother was a teacher.
Usman had a tough early childhood in Nigeria, hence why his father decided to move the family to America in order to provide a better life for them.
Usman and his family would move to Dallas, Texas when he was 8 years old. Usman was introduced to wrestling in high school. Thereon he would compile a 53-3 record and placed 3rd at the Texas state championships.
Since a young age, Usman was able to develop his mindset. Born in Auchi, Nigeria, life was tough at first, but Usman was able to overcome the hardships and become stronger.
He brought this strong mindset into his wrestling career, which enabled him to go from strength to strength and excel.
Usman has continued to stay positive and continuously push and believe in himself, which has now saw him become a UFC champion!
Fast forward to more recent times, after defeating Colby Covington in 2019, in what was a thrilling bout, Usman stated ‘My mind is stronger than everyone in the division’, reinforcing how he believes his success has come through the strength of his mind.
He gets this strength from constant training and believing in himself, even when other people didn’t, Usman always did. When Usman first challenged for the title against Tyron Woodley in 2019, he was the underdog.
People believed that Woodley was a superior striker and the better wrestler. Woodley had greater wrestling credentials than Usman competing in the NCAA Division I, whereas Usman competed in the NCAA Division II. Well, how wrong they all were!
Usman completely outclassed Woodley in the wrestling department taking him down with ease and controlling the whole fight. It was a dominant victory over a great fighter in Woodley who reigned as the world champion since 2016.
Usman showed people to never count him out. No matter what the credentials had shown in the past, Usman had belief that he was the better wrestler and proved it on the night.
Being able to possess this magnitude of mental strength can be a timely process, but through self-belief and constant work it is attainable for all. You must have a strong mindset when chasing your dreams. Believe in yourself and put the work in!
Usman is a big INSPIRATION!
Usman became a massive INSPIRATION to people when he became a UFC champion. An accomplishment not many people in the world can say they have achieved. But when he won the UFC title against Woodley in 2019, he made history.
He became the first ever African UFC world champion! This was a big moment and great honour for him to be able to represent his roots.
He has talked about his upbringing in interviews, recalling the tough life he had to live, ‘We didn’t have running water. We had to get water from wells, and there was a stint where I lived with my grandma where we had to get water, bring it over to the house. You had to boil the water because you never knew what parasites were in the water.’
Walking miles for basic necessities at just the young and tender age of 5, Usman really had it hard in Nigeria, but it shaped him into the person he is today.
His parents would constantly be working to provide for their children, with his mum being a teacher. The family also worked in farms and shops. It is this hardship that has taught Usman to not take things for granted in life.
Having this experience at a young age has allowed him to strive towards his dreams, finding himself in a much better place nowadays.
Usman has shown his people back home that becoming the UFC champion is a dream they can achieve too. He showed them it was obtainable through hard work and perseverance.
Usman inspires us by showing us that no matter what situation you find yourself in, anything is achievable. As long as you have the desire and will to achieve your goals, you can do it!
The African talent has continued to rise in the UFC, with Israel Adesanya, also born in Nigeria, becoming a UFC champion too.
Other great African UFC fighters include the newly crowned UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou. Usman has started this all by becoming the first African champion, inspiring them all.
Just because it has never been done before doesn’t mean it isn’t achievable. You must stay focused when chasing your own aspirations and keep going!
Usman went from nothing to the top…he is LIMITLESS!
Usman has shown so far throughout his life that he is LIMITLESS. Coming from having nothing in Nigeria, struggling to get the basic necessities.
He has become one of the best mixed martial artists in the world. He is at the top holding the welterweight throne and the pound for pound best in the UFC, in many peoples eyes.
Usman was a high-level wrestler throughout his youth competing in the NCAA Division II. Becoming a finalist twice and winning the 174-pound division in 2010.
It was clear that Usman was a great and talented wrestler. He would go on to make the transition to MMA, making his debut in 2012. This transition of wrestler to MMA fighter has been attempted by many, but not been successful by all. In fact rarely any.
What made Usman different? His self-belief and perseverance. He was willing to learn and do what it took to achieve the goal he set himself. It was a very ambitious goal, but Usman was able to match it with his huge belief and incredible work rate.
Usman said ‘Yes, I came into this sport as just a grappler, but the more I learn, the more it shines in my fights.’. Mixed martial arts require you to be good at not just wrestling, but all disciplines of martial arts.
Usman had to make sure his striking was of a high level and that he was able to grapple whilst including strikes. Completely different to competing in wrestling where no strikes are allowed.
Usman would go on to win his debut in MMA but would unfortunately lose his second fight by rear naked choke.
Usman didn’t sulk about the loss, he addressed the mistakes he made.
He sought out to improve his Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills.
Ever since this defeat, Usman would go on an incredible run, dismantling every opponent that has stepped up against him. He remains undefeated since his last defeat, to this day!
Usman showed us that he is limitless by believing in himself to make this tough transition from a wrestler to an MMA fighter. He put countless hours of work in to improve all parts of his game to become the fighter he now is.
After taking that big step, being a good MMA fighter wasn’t enough for Usman! He set his sights even higher. He wanted to be the best.
Fight by fight he proved that and took a step closer to that goal. Years of nothing but hard work and determination later, Usman has proven that he is the best to us all.
Usman told us ‘You never say never. That’s one of the lessons I’ve learned.’, here he teaches us that anything is possible if you really truly believe in it.
By saying it is not possible, we are stopping ourselves from even making the attempt. How will we ever know if we never even try?
You must never say never and work towards achieving your dreams. Be limitless. Keep working up towards your goals. Set the bar higher each time and one day you will each the pinnacle of your dreams!
Usman is able to reach his own INNER-PEACE
Usman strives for INNER-PEACE. The struggles he has endured throughout his life have shaped him to be the man he is today.
He has developed great strength from this both mentally and physically, as he has said before ‘My mind is stronger than everyone in the division’.
Usman is able to reach inner peace by spending time with his family. He has previously said that he is a family man and wants to make sure he can give them the best life possible.
He has a daughter who is a big motivation in his fighting career. Being able to provide for her gives him that extra drive when it comes to fight time.
Usman tells us ‘I am what I am. I don’t regret anything.’ Showing us that he accepts who he is by being true to himself, he is able to reach a state of inner-peace as he knows who he is and he is proud of it.
Usman also wants to give back to his people in Africa, stating that one day he would like to create a foundation to aid his people back home.
Experiencing life there, he knows the constant difficulties they face. Now being a man on top of the world, he feels that it is his duty to give back to his community.
Usman has also told us that you must find out what you hold close to your heart to find your own inner-peace. For Usman, he loves wrestling, which spread into a career in mixed martial arts. Outside of his career, he values spending time with his family.
Find out what you hold closest to your own heart to find your own inner-peace and pursue it.
Usman has learnt the true essence of TIME
Throughout the years Usman has had to be patient, giving things TIME. He has learnt this through various moments in his life. We will focus on the time where he finished college.
After completing a hugely successful collegiate wrestling career, he would move his focus onto freestyle wrestling. Usman would train at the United States Olympic training centre in Colorado Springs. Here he would train with hopes of making it to the 2012 Olympics.
This was unfortunately not to be for Usman. He would find himself suffering with injuries ruining his hopes of making it to the Olympics. He did not panic. He focused his efforts on different ventures.
This was when he would turn to mixed martial arts. Usman gave this his all, making his debut at the end of 2012. The rest is well documented!
Usman was patient when he was injured and did not let his failure of not making it to the Olympics put him down. Instead, he chose a different path which he now reaps great rewards from.
When Usman began his MMA journey, he again had to be patient to reach his longtime goal.
Usman went on a 12-fight win streak in his MMA career before he finally landed that shot at the world title.
Usman entered the UFC upon winning the prestigious The Ultimate Fighter tournament.
The tournament is well known amongst UFC fans, as it offers MMA fighters a chance to become a UFC fighter by competing in fights matched up against one another.
Usman impressively won 2 bouts, which saw him go on to compete in the final where he defeated Hayder Hassan via arm triangle choke in the 2nd round. He became The Ultimate Fighter winner in 2015!
Soon later, Usman had his first UFC fighter against now top welterweight contender Leon Edwards, where he won via unanimous decision. Usman would then continue to work his way up the UFC rankings.
All in all, it was 7 years in the making, Usman didn’t give up on his dream and continued to believe that he would one day achieve it.
Usman told us ‘There’s a blessing in everything that happens to us.’, showing us that everything happens for a reason.
Though it may feel like we have faced a setback, we should always take the positives out of the bad situations we find ourselves in. We should see it as learning curves which will enable us to be better in the long run.
You must give things time when chasing your dreams. Sometimes it may not work out, but you must keep on going. There are always ways around the problems you face, you have to figure them out!
Usman was ACTIVE to get to the top
To get to where he now is Usman had to be ACTIVE. He made sure that once he started his journey into mixed martial arts, he would put his all into it.
Usman is constantly training and improving his skills sticking to strict training and meal plans.
The work rate Usman has dates all the way back to his childhood, where he was taught that nothing comes easy, having to travel miles just for basic necessities like water.
Usman knows that in order to perform to the best of his abilities, he must be actively seeking to improve and give his all in training.
Having such a strong work rate, Usman is able to constantly improve his skills in all departments. Usman makes sure that he is constantly displaying his improved skills in the octagon, aiming to fight around 2/3 times a year.
This activity enabled him to climb up the rankings and show that he was worthy of the ultimate goal, becoming a champion.
Not everyone is able to fight for the UFC championship upon entering the UFC. The organisation is stacked with nothing but the best fighters across the whole world.
To stand out above the rest, you must want it more than the others, displaying superior skills, which can only come through constant work.
You must earn it. This is exactly what Usman did by beating big names such as Rafael Dos Anjos and Demian Maia before he would get his crack at the title.
Usman has said ‘Nobody – nobody – in my division wants to fight me, because I am the hardest fight for anybody.’ Usman gets this belief through the work he puts in, he believes he trains harder than everyone else in his division.
When Usman comes to fight, he puts it all on the line. Nothing is more important to Usman than winning when he steps foot into the octagon. He believes his desire to win is unmatched, which he has proven as no one has been able to beat him in the UFC.
Now that Usman is the champion, he has a new goal.
To become one of the greatest mixed martial arts the UFC has ever seen in the welterweight division.
To be able to reach this status Usman knows he must defend his title regularly against the best mixed martial artists in the world.
You must stay active and aim to make constant progress towards your goals each day.
Every day you should take a forward step towards your goals, no matter the size of progression. Aim to become better each day, one day you will take that big step towards your ultimate dream!
Usman has showed how RELENTLESS he is!
Usman is RELENTLESS! He has showed this countless times throughout his life.
Born in Auchi, Nigeria where he had to travel to drink water at times, to then become one of the greatest UFC welterweights of all time is some achievement!
Everything Usman has done he has put his all into it. This includes both his wrestling and current MMA career.
He always strives to be the best he possibly can be, spreading far beyond his fighting career and into his life in general.
He aims to be the best person he can be for his family. Making sure that he provides for his family and is a good father to his daughter.
Usman ‘believes When it comes down to digging, can’t nobody dig as hard as I can dig.’ This reiterates how relentless Usman is.
He is willing to dig deep down to a place where not many people will, in order to achieve his goals. No matter what the doubters say, Usman always knows he can do it.
He knows what he is capable of and shows it each and every time he fights. Each time Usman faces a problem he faces it head on.
He doesn’t run away from it. He is relentless to go through it and solve the problem.
Usman himself says that he is a ‘problem solver’, reiterating how he is determined to overcome any obstacles in his way to attain his goals.
You must be relentless on your path to achieving your dreams. The route is never easy with you bound to face many problems on the way.
It is about staying strong and continuing to strive through to accomplish your goals. By doing this and never giving up, one day you will reach your desired outcome!
Usman is one of the greatest mixed martial artists in the world. We can all take something from his mindset, seeing how he has been able to overcome the struggles he has faced to become one of the greatest welterweights of all time.
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