Kamaru Usman looked back on his career as he prepares to face his friend and teammate, Burns

UFC legend Kamaru Usman faced some great rivals during his time as the welterweight champion.

From Colby Covington to Jorge Masvidal, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ always had a big-name opponent to collide with while he was at the top.

However, the opponent that was the most difficult for Usman to prepare for was a contender that he already knew incredibly well.

A series of impressive performances from Gilbert Burns saw him ascend up the 170-pound ladder after moving up to the division from lightweight.

The two training partners would eventually stand out as the two best in the world, which meant that they would have to put their friendship aside to chase their dreams.

Kamaru Usman recalls watching the Countdown preview for his fight with Gilbert Burns

Though Gilbert Burns did try to call for a welterweight title shot as politely as he could after beating Tyron Woodley, this still came as a big surprise to Kamaru Usman.

The two men are back to being good friends but the build to their encounter at UFC 258 was an incredibly tense and emotional affair for the champion in particular.

Usman and Burns recently reflected on this experience after ‘Durinho’ appeared on the Pound 4 Pound podcast as a guest.

‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ spoke about how, with him being the one to exit the team in order to train elsewhere for that fight, he constantly felt like people were picking sides or spreading rumours.

Usman stated on the podcast that there was one moment in particular that really got to him due to the relationship that he had with Burns’ children.

“All of these things were festering, and then I see posts, and then what really took me over the edge was watching the Countdown.

“He was walking with Pedro and Josh, they were walking along maybe some little canal, and they’re talking, and he asked them, and I love Pedro. I used to love playing with Pedro when he was small, and he says, ‘Who’s going to be the new champion?’ And Pedro and Josh were like, ‘Daddy. ’

‘Who’s going to take this belt?’ And they were like, ‘Daddy, you’re going to take the belt. ’ It just hit me in my heart. I don’t know why.”

After stating that it was the most emotional training camp that he’s been through, Usman said that at the time, it made him feel like he couldn’t trust people whom he was once close.

“Like I say, athletes at the highest level, you find little things to motivate you. I don’t know why it triggered me, but it hit me in a way where I was like, I love that little boy. I play with him all the time, and the whole time, you start getting paranoid. I’m like, ‘The whole time y’all were plotting to take my title, take food away from me’.”

Both men knew that the fight wasn’t personal but this didn’t matter in the heat of the moment where only one of them could leave with the welterweight title.

Usman weathered some adversity in the fight before stopping Burns in the third round to retain the 170-pound belt, releasing his emotion immediately after he had closed the show.

“Once the fight took place, it didn’t hit me until right at the end of the fight. I’m being animated and I’m up and I’m up and then, out of the side of my eye, I see Gilbert down here and then I see my coach, Trevor, saying, ‘Yeah, fight’s over’.

“I see him and it hit me like, ‘Bro, that’s my boy. That’s my friend.’ I just got crushed.”