Mohammed Usman explains why he signed with PFL and still got to fight in Titan FC
Mohammed Usman explains why he chose PFL over joining brother in UFC
One of MMA‘s brightest prospects, and the younger brother of UFC welterweight champion Kamarru Usman, Mohammed Usman heard from a variety of MMA promotions to sign with, including the UFC, Bellator and ONE Championship.
As the negotiating period went on, Usman felt that he was going to end up joining his brother in the UFC. But that was when the PFL came in suddenly with a better offer, one that Usman couldn’t refuse to pass on.
In an exclusive interview with FanSided MMA, Usman said when he was considering the various promotions and their deals, signing with the PFL seemed like the best move to do in the best interest for his career, both in the short-term and the long-term.
I was [talking] with everybody,” Usman told FanSided MMA. “I had Bellator, UFC, One FC. At the very last point when PFL reached out to me, I was just thinking I’d probably go to UFC like my brother, but PFL just came with a better offer, simple as that. At the end of the day, this sport isn’t forever. I like their format and how their seasons work, and I just liked it. It just made sense to me at that time.”
With the momentum of a three-fight win streak and a 6-1 record at the time, and coming off an 18-second knockout in Titan FC, Usman was scheduled to compete in the heavyweight division as part of the 2020 PFL season.
But in March, the global coronavirus pandemic effectively put the MMA world on a forced hiatus. And in April, the PFL made the decision to suspend a 2020 season with hopes to return in 2021.
Obviously, Usman was left disappointed with the idea that he might not be able to fight in the calendar year. But the pandemic left him taking things day-by-day and focusing on the positive aspects of his daily life.
“Everybody was excited for everything we were supposed to accomplish this year,” Usman said. “Nobody knew what was happening, we were all blindsided. But you know, I just wake up every day and just take it a day at a time and just try to make the best day out of everything.
“You never know; maybe it wasn’t our time to fight. Maybe we need to get more ready. So I let go of bad thoughts circling in my head…I just make the best out of the situation.”
Mohammed Usman on how he got to fight in Titan FC despite PFL contract
And it turned out Usman didn’t have to wait until 2021 to fight after all.
After conversations between the PFL, Titan FC and Usman and his management team, the younger Usman brother was granted the opportunity to take another fight with Titan, headlining their Titan FC 63 event in late August and scoring a unanimous decision win over Terrance Hodges.
Coincidentally enough, the PFL finds itself threatened with a lawsuit from its two-time featherweight champion Lance Palmer, women’s lightweight champion Kayla Harrison and others in regards to how the promotion handled the lost 2020 season.
Palmer, Harison and others are suing for lost wages as a result of not being able to fight — due to the canceled 2020 PFL plans and the promotion not allowing them to fight outside the organization. Earlier this year, the PFL released one-third of the fighters it signed for 2020, while keeping the rest and paying them a stipend of $1,000 per month. Meanwhile, promotions like UFC, Bellator and ONE have been able to return and hold events during these times.
Additionally, in a previous exclusive interview with FanSided MMA, Donn Davis, PFL co-founder and chairman, stated that the promotion was open to the idea of a co-promoted card featuring PFL champions taking on others from another organization, but it didn’t make as much sense as just holding off events until 2021.
Usman said he can’t speak for Palmer and the other fighters who are planning to sue; however, he says the PFL has treated him very well in his short time as a signed fighter and that communication was key in getting him the fight in Titan FC.
He added that while he feels for those fighters who can’t find fights, he understands the business aspect of the PFL trying to keep its best names around, as opposed to going to another global MMA organization.
“At the end of the day, it’s, [Titan FC is] a regional promotion, and I mean I don’t know about these other guys but PFL is [a] more national [or] worldwide promotion, which is on the same level as UFC and Bellator. So I would understand them not being able to let fighters go to those other top promotions because that’s just disrupting the integrity of their platform. And I totally understand why the PFL is how it is, but they’ve been very open and supportive, the communication has been 100. Whatever I had a problem with, whenever I needed to talk to them or figure out a situation, they’ve been open and they’ve been helpful. So, you know, I just hope everybody understands that everything is can be so simple with just communication.”
Additionally, the regional promotions themselves have been a heavily-hit victim of the pandemic, with promotions either just getting back to holding events, still on hiatus, or worse, forced to close their doors.
It effectively gives less chances to the lower-tier fighters not competing in major MMA organizations and gives these promotions fewer chances at looking at talents to sign, which Usman, through his experiences of being a top prospect and his time with Titan, understands could leave a big impact on the sport for the future.
“It’s huge! At the end of the day, you have to be able to use the lower platforms to get to the upper platforms,” Usman said. “And that’s why Titan is at such a higher level when it comes to the regional platforms. They just work so hard to take really good care of the fighters, and that’s one of the things that really made me enjoy being at Titan before I signed with the PFL.
“There’s just such a high level when it comes to how they treat the fighters and their coaches, and they’re very professional. And [they were great] in the way they worked with PFL for me getting back to just being able to still compete for them. They were very open to just letting me just get better and compete and still holding integrity to the PFL.”
Mohammed Usman: No MMA champion puts in the work like my brother, Kamaru
Kamaru Usman also found himself in the news not too long ago with the announcement that his scheduled welterweight title defense with Gilbert Burns would be pushed back to early 2021 to allow the champ more time to prepare for the fight. The elder Usman brother is coming off a successful title defense against Jorge Masvidal at UFC 251 in July — a bout Burns was scheduled to compete in before testing positive for coronavirus.
While some may criticize the move after the negative perception of Usman-Masvidal and the level of action in the said fight, Mohammed Usman says no other champion in the sport has worked harder in the past year than his brother.
“This is a dangerous sport, man. We get beat up every day of our life,” Mohammed Usman said. “My brother has been putting in work day in, day out, and he showed why he needs time. He just went in and beat Colby Covington, and then went and beat up [Jorge] Masvidal. You know what I mean, he’s always like he just did that. So it’s like when you sit back and think about it, [what other champions are] really doing it like that besides my brother? Not a lot.
“He deserves his time to heal and come back to the best he can. At the end of the day, it’s not about just, ‘Oh you get hurt? Let me just fight a guy that’s hurt.’ We need time to heal and he’s earned his time off, and he deserves it. He’s the best in the world for a reason, and he deserves the time off to heal the body.”
On the flip, some in the MMA community have questioned if Burns should still receive the title shot, especially in the aftermath of Covington’s victory over Tyron Woodley to jump back to the No. 1 spot in the UFC’s welterweight rankings and call for a rematch with Kamaru Usman.
Mohammed Usman says his champion brother is willing to fight anyone, but he himself feels that Burns, who Kamaru Usman has trained with previously, has done more than enough to get his shot.
“Gilbert is a tough fighter; he worked hard to get to where he’s at,” he said. “My brother had to go through everybody to get up there before he got at [Tyron] Woodley. So I understand situations happen because I’m pretty sure somebody had their shot before Gilbert, but circumstances put Gilbert in a predicament, to be able to say he’s the number one contender.
“Everybody’s got to keep fighting because, at the end of the day, my brother will fight everybody.”
Moahmmed Usman looking forward to bringing PFL title to home country
As for his own immediate future, Mohammed Usman will continue preparations for the 2021 PFL season. At heavyweight, his competition is scheduled to include defending PFL heavyweight champion Ali Isaev, UFC veteran Justin Willis and recent PFL signings Renan Ferreira and Brandon Sayles.
Mohammed Usman says there’s not one opponent in particular; however, he’s looking forward to facing, he just looks to get in the cage and continuing to showcase himself.
He feels he and the PFL have a perfect symbiotic relationship with his skills — he’ll help make the PFL a bigger platform than it’s at right now, and he’ll be able to bring a championship back to Nigeria.
“I’m a prizefighter,” Usman said. “I want to get in there, and I want to compete and I want to win the championship for the PFL and take their platform to a higher level and bring a championship back to my country.”
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