Former UFC champions Kamaru Usman and Michael Bisping have similar stories about being knocked out for the first time.
Usman suffered the first KO loss of his professional career after Leon Edwards sent him to the canvas with a head kick at UFC 278 this past August. In a recent interview with Bisping, the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ said he recalled everything that happened before and after the fight, but nothing of the knockout.
BE’s podcasts have a new home
Bloody Elbow Podcasts on Substack is your place for all the BE shows you love, like ‘The 6th Round Post-Fight Show’, ‘The MMA Vivisections’, ‘The Level Change Podcast’ and ‘The Care/Don’t Care Podcast’. Paid subscriptions help make sure these shows continue to run.
“It’s weird because obviously I don’t remember the kick, boom,” said Usman. “I don’t remember. And I watch it and I’m in the cage and everything. I’m there, coherent. But I don’t remember really coming to until I was in the ambulance, which was probably seven minutes after. I’m in the ambulance and they’re like, ‘Hey, where are you?’ I’m like, ‘I’m in Salt Lake.’”
Similar to Usman, the UFC Hall of Famer also remembered being in an ambulance after his KO loss to Dan Henderson at UFC 100 nearly 14 years ago. Up until that point, the ‘Count’ was 17-1, with a split decision loss to Rashad Evans being his only blemish.
“I was the exact same way,” said Bisping. “I was in the back of an ambulance with Frank Mir. He’s just been beaten up by Brock Lesnar, and I was sitting in the back and I just went, ‘F—k!’ Yeah, I get it. I remember. I remember what’s happened, damn!”
Usman has a chance to reclaim the UFC welterweight championship when he faces Edwards in their third (and potentially final) fight at UFC 286 on Saturday.
About the author: Kristen King is a writer for Bloody Elbow. She has covered combat sports since 2016. (full bio)
Reserve your user name for the new Bloody Elbow before April 1, 2023. Go here for more details (link).
Related