Kamaru Usman is smart enough to learn from the mistakes others have made before him.
As he was scratching and clawing his way up the welterweight ladder, the former Ultimate Fighter winner always kept his eyes on the ultimate prize but never looked past the next opponent standing in front of him. Usman eventually took out every fighter ahead of him until finally earning his opportunity to compete for gold against then welterweight champion Tyron Woodley.
In the days and weeks leading up to that fight, Usman heard Woodley often talk about his standing in welterweight history as he staked a claim to be considered the greatest of all time after chasing a fight against former champion Georges St-Pierre for several years.