UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman is not only looking for another massive win in his already impressive MMA career at UFC 278 against Leon Edwards, but he is now looking even beyond the octagon for success.
Edwards recently claimed that the 170-pound Champion is allowing the fame and money he is earning “get to his head,” but the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ has outlined exactly what keeps him driven at this stage of his career.
With the Welterweight Champion set to appear in the upcoming Marvel film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, some critics have also been wondering if the ‘Hollywood’ element has been getting into the mindset of the pound-for-pound great.
Here is what Kamaru Usman had to say with regards to his movie career and why he is driven to be even bigger than The Rock.
Read More: UFC 278: Date, Announced Fight Card, Location, Kamaru Usman and more
Kamaru Usman on The Rock
The Rock is, without doubt, now in the best shape of his life
Speaking at the UFC 278 media day (via Sportskeeda), Usman revealed that he will continue to work until he is bigger than WWE legend and arguably the biggest movie star in the world, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.
The Nigerian Nightmare said: "I put the work in and I got that, but that doesn't stop me. I want to be bigger than Dwayne Johnson. Bigger than him, so that means I need more work.
“So, this notion of when people say 'oh, you're Hollywood now, it's going to his head', I think it's ridiculous to me, and if he's thinking that, it's the biggest misconception, it'll be a short night for him come Saturday night."
Read More: Kamaru Usman eyes huge fight after UFC 278
UFC 278 Usman vs Edwards 2 Fight Card
Kamaru Usman at the press conference
Usman vs Edwards 2 isn’t the only exciting contest set to take place on this fight card, and for context, here is the full lineup for UFC 278 as confirmed by the official UFC website on Thursday, August 18th 2022:
Early Prelims
- Daniel Da Silva vs Victor Altamirano – Flyweight Bout
- Aoriqileng vs Jay Perrin – Bantamweight Bout
- Amir Albazi vs Francisco Figueiredo – Flyweight Bout
- AJ Fletcher vs Ange Loosa – Welterweight Bout
Prelims
- Miranda Maverick vs Shanna Young – Women’s Flyweight Bout
- Sean Woodson vs Luis Saldana – Featherweight Bout
- Wu Yanan vs Lucie Pudilova – Women’s Bantamweight Bout
- Leonardo Santos vs Jared Gordon – Lightweight Bout
Main Card
- Tyson Pedro vs Harry Hunsucker – Light Heavyweight Bout
- Marcin Tybura vs Alexandr Romanov – Heavyweight Bout
- Jose Aldo vs Merab Dvalishvili – Bantamweight Bout
- Paulo Costa vs Luke Rockhold – Middleweight Bout
- Kamaru Usman (c) vs Leon Edwards – Main Event UFC Welterweight Championship Bout
This should be an absolutely massive night of mixed martial arts action, and if you are a combat sports fan, it is certainly not a fight night that you’ll want to miss!
Read More: UFC 278 UK Start Time: Early Prelims, Prelims and Main Card
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