Tyron Woodley (L) and Kamaru Usman, of Nigeria, grapple during their welterweight title bout during UFC 235 at T-Mobile Arena on March 02, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Isaac Brekken/Getty Images/AFP
Nigeria’s Kamaru Usman became first African-born fighter to win a UFC title after pummelling Tyron Woodley in a one-sided bout at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Read Also:
The 31-year-old Usman, a Nigerian-born Texan and former NCAA Division II wrestler, broke into the UFC in 2015 on its long-running competition reality show.
He won his first eight UFC bouts and battered ex-champ Rafael Dos Anjos last November to earn his shot at Woodley’s belt.
Woodley (19-4-1) had been the UFC’s 170-pound champ since July 2016 and defended the belt four times, but Usman (15-1) got off to a quick start and never let up in his first career title shot.
Usman celebrated in the cage with his daughter before his hand was raised in victory.
“Can’t nobody handle me,” Usman said. “I’ve been wanting this fight, and I’ll be honest, I might not be the best striker in the world. I might not be the best wrestler in the world. But when it comes to mixing this (stuff) up, I’m the best in the world right now.”
Usman triumphed with a unanimous decision, winning 50-44 on two cards and 50-45 on the third.
