Through 13 UFC fights, including four title fights, welterweight champion Kamaru Usman has made a habit of imposing his will on the 170-pound division, grinding and grappling and beating up the best the division has to offer. Along the way, Usman showed a particular fondness for “breaking his opponent,” a phrase occasionally tossed around and fairly understood in the fight game. To hear Usman describe it, though, is to hear a person who has made a habit of this kind of soul-crushing, which he intends to do when he defends his title against Jorge Masvidal for a second time at UFC 261.
“To be able to go the distance and you break him, you take his best shot, he takes your best shot, but he can’t take it – you break him,” Usman said. “You break his will. It withers, and you feel it break. There’s a moment to where you just know. Forever in that guy’s life, he will never forget that moment no matter what he does, which is why, in most cases, we don’t remember all the things we win. We don’t remember all the people we compete against and beat, but we remember each and every one that we lost to.”