Black Panther role not a distraction from MMA - Usman

Nigeria’s mixed martial arts superstar, Kamaru Usman, has revealed that his detour into movies and Hollywood is not a distraction to his mixed martial arts career but just him planning for the next stage of his life.

The former UFC welterweight champion revealed this while responding to a question from this reporter at the press conference of his upcoming MMA showpiece, the Face Off Fight Night 3, which will hold in Lagos on Thursday, 29 December.

Kamaru Usman bagged his first movie role when he featured in the latest installment of the Black Panther franchise, Black Panther; Wakanda Forever. Many critics were quick to point out that this was a distraction that could have contributed to the loss of his UFC welterweight title in August.

But the former champ does not think it was exactly a distraction. According to him, he will not fight forever, so it’s important that he plans for life after his ring career by positioning himself in an industry as viable as Hollywood.

“For me as a sportsman, this is just me planning for the next chapter of my life,” the former champion revealed.

“You know I can’t fight forever. There was a champion before me, and there’s definitely going to be a champion after me. I can’t be the champion forever. Even myself, I don’t want to be punching people’s faces forever. So it’s not a distraction. I’m just using this as a vehicle into the next phase of my life.”

The Nigerian Nightmare also announced that he will bring new MMA championships into Nigeria and Africa as a whole. To be called the ‘African Knockout Championship’, it will enable African fighters to win professional MMA titles across different weight classes.

Kamaru Usman also announced plans to collaborate with the Lagos State Ministry of sports to establish an MMA federation in Lagos.

According to the Lagos State Commissioner of Sports, Sola Aiyepeku, who was present at the occasion, the federation would help budding MMA fighters hone their skills and use the opportunity as a springboard for their careers so that they could better their lives and the lives of their families.