{"id":8174,"date":"2019-02-28T22:35:12","date_gmt":"2019-02-28T20:35:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/?p=8174"},"modified":"2019-02-28T22:35:20","modified_gmt":"2019-02-28T20:35:20","slug":"nigerian-nightmare-out-to-crush-it-in-ufc-235-live-on-supersport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/blog\/2019\/02\/28\/nigerian-nightmare-out-to-crush-it-in-ufc-235-live-on-supersport\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Nigerian Nightmare’ Out To Crush It In UFC 235 – Live On SuperSport"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The \u201cNigerian Nightmare\u201d descends on Las Vegas this weekend for what shapes to be one of MMA\u2019s best fights of the year at UFC 235, to be broadcast live on SuperSport.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Kamaru Usman, the number two contender, takes on champion Tyron Woodley in a pick \u2019em fight that matches two of the best technicians in the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Usman says it has been many years since he visited the land of the birth \u2013 his family moved to the US when he was eight \u2013 but he still feels a strong connection to Nigeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAbsolutely,\u201d he said in a call from Las Vegas this week. \u201cAll of my extended family is there while here in the US I\u2019ve my parents, two brothers and sisters and two uncles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now based in Dallas, he concedes that MMA is still growing in awareness in Nigeria and is happy to help \u201cshed a light\u201d that there is another big sport out there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou guys have a star,\u201d he said of his countrymen, hoping they will tune in to watch the biggest moment of his seven-year professional career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Woodley, he will be facing a fighter making the fifth defence of his UFC belt, and a man rated among UFC\u2019s top \u201cpound-for-pound\u201d performers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Usman is under no illusions that he will be up against one of the division\u2019s best, and a man who won\u2019t be easily beaten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s gonna take everything [to win] . . . skills, heart. When everything is settled, I know he\u2019s tough. I have to show him my heart and do whatever it takes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo fight me you have to be confident. I know I\u2019m a hard guy to deal with. I\u2019m tough for anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Six years removed from his last defeat, Usman says that he learned plenty from that reverse to Jose Caceres, which is underpinned by his outstanding 9-0 record in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI remember it like it was yesterday,\u201d said the man who was born in Benin City in Nigeria\u2019s south. \u201cI had just got into the sport, I didn\u2019t know much. I was a wrestler and thought I was okay, but I had to learn to grapple and discover the intricacies of jiu-jitsu and kick-boxing. I took the time to learn everything. I can\u2019t be caught \u2013 it will never happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the co-headliner, two-time light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones will square off against Anthony Smith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Broadcast details:<\/strong> SuperSport 11 will cross to Las Vegas at 05:00 on Sunday, 3 March 2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The \u201cNigerian Nightmare\u201d descends on Las Vegas this weekend for what shapes to be one of MMA\u2019s best fights of the year at UFC 235, to be broadcast live on SuperSport. Kamaru Usman, the number two contender, takes on champion Tyron Woodley in a pick \u2019em fight that matches two of the best technicians in… Continue reading ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ Out To Crush It In UFC 235 – Live On SuperSport<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[149],"class_list":["post-8174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-television","tag-supersport","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8174\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}