Kamaru Usman has confirmed that Francis Ngannou will be in his corner for his welterweight title defense against Jorge Masvidal at UFC 261 on April 24.

Usman is back in training and set for a mega-money showdown with BMF champ Masvidal in Jacksonville, Florida.

The last time we saw "the Nigerian Nightmare", the UFC welterweight champion required just three rounds to drop Gilbert Burns, his former teammate, and pummel his head into the canvas, forcing a stop to the contest. 

But he couldn't have done it without the support of his head coach Trevor Wittman, Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach Jorge Santiago, and his brother Mohammed Usman, who is currently signed to the PFL. 

However, less than a week away from the highly-anticipated rematch, Usman announced his brother will no longer be able to corner him and would be replaced by Ngannou, the UFC heavyweight champion.

"Who better to replace someone like that than with the heavyweight champ himself, Francis Ngannou?" Usman said to ESPN.

Ngannou's story is the stuff of legend; from the sand mines of Cameroon to the streets of his adopted country of France, he finally achieved his dreams of becoming a world champion when he knocked out Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC 260 on March 27 in Las Vegas. 

Usman admits he is inspired by his rags-to-riches Rocky Balboa story which has helped him to move up into second place on ESPN's pound-for-pound rankings.

"It motivates me so much," he added. "I said that to him. It motivates me so much to even just be around him."