UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman wants boxing star Anthony Joshua to come train with him to iron out his clinch work.
Usman’s stock has skyrocketed over the past few years, and most notably in 2021, as arguably one of the most dominant UFC champions ever. He’s most recently earned knockouts over Gilbert Burns and Jorge Masvidal along with a unanimous decision win over Colby Covington.
Usman has become a major fixture in the world of combat sports, as further evidenced by his recent invitation to Joshua to work on his wrestling. After watching a clip of Joshua getting some wrestling training in, Usman offered his services to the heavyweight boxing star.
“Ah ah my brother, you for call me nah,” Usman commented in ‘Pidgin English’. “Dis is my specialty.”
Usman has most recently teased a potential money fight against boxing champion Canelo Alvarez in due time. Once thought of as a grappling specialist, Usman’s striking has vastly improved over his past few wins in the Octagon.
Joshua is set for a rematch against Oleksandr Usyk in 2022. He had been on track to face Tyson Fury before losing his heavyweight titles to Usyk earlier this year and activating his rematch clause.
This isn’t the first time Joshua has been seen training in MMA during his boxing camps. He most recently trained with former UFC middleweight Luke Barnatt and has enhanced his knowledge of the sport as a whole.
Usman and Joshua could learn a lot from one another, and it’ll be interesting to see if these two stars work together in the gym.
What are your thoughts on Kamaru Usman offering to train boxers in grappling?