LAS VEGAS – As per his brother’s request, Mohammed Usman exercised patience in his win over Junior Tafa.
Usman (9-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) made it 2-0 in the octagon when he defeated Tafa by unanimous decision this past Saturday at UFC Fight Night 222 at the UFC Apex. With his brother, former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, giving him some pre-fight advice, “The Motor” was able to weather an early storm and use his grappling to control Tafa.
“My brother just kept saying the same thing over and over again: ‘Don’t rush, stay patient,'” Usman told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at his UFC Fight Night 222 post-fight news conference. “Fighting, when you rush, your heart rate goes up.
“Your heart rate is already going through the roof, but when you rush, it goes up a little bit more. It makes you lose track of focus, and the mission is not to go in there and rush. The mission is to go in there and execute and do what we need to do to get the job done. I’m glad that we got that done today.”
Usman took on an unbeaten prospect in former Glory kickboxer Tafa, but “The Ultimate Fighter 30” winner isn’t concerned with matchmaking moving forward.
“This is the UFC. You get to a certain level, you fight everybody,” Usman said. “The goal going forward is just to keep listening to my coaches, just keep getting better. Just keep getting better to just be in the cage and be able to mix everything up and just improving.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 222.
