Share
Peter Akinbo
Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman has hit back at Conor McGregor’s criticism of taking his daughter to his fights.
Footage of Samirah Usman crying after her dad’s brutal knockout loss to Leon Edwards last month went viral after the former pound-for-pound king was dethroned at UFC 278.
After seeing the footage, McGregor expressed his sympathy for Samirah, 8, and revealed he’d no longer be having his own family in attendance for his fights.
The former two-division champion tweeted, “I feel this deep. I do not suggest bringing family whatsoever. Especially the children. This is different fighting. I’ve done both sides of this and feel going to the mission solo is best. You can see family again post battle. Will definitely be continuing this way going forward.”
However, during an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast on Sunday, Usman said, “Conor had tweeted something and was blasting me about it, for bringing her to the fight and this and that.
“And f**k no! (Critics) don’t understand it. They’re just in a low level of thinking to where they don’t understand like, absolutely I’m going to bring her.
“My daughter’s not only gonna see when daddy’s victorious and daddy just continues to beat everybody and daddy gets to put her in the best school or whatever she wants. No.
“Because I’m in a weird place where I’m trying to teach her. She has work ethic, but it’s kinda like, ‘Eh, I don’t want to do that today,’ or, ‘I don’t want to do gymnastics,’ or ‘I don’t want to do that this week.’
“And she doesn’t want to do it. ‘Oh, I don’t like it anymore. I want to quit.’
“And I’m trying to teach her the best way that I can without forcing her to do something of what it takes to work hard.
“My daughter has been going to the gym with me ever since she was six months old so she understands that, and she’s OK with it. That’s why she can watch my fights but I’m not only gonna bring her because daddy’s victorious.”
Usman, 35, also plans to bring Samirah to his trilogy fight with Edwards early next year.
He said; “I am blessed right now with an opportunity to show my daughter that, ‘Look, you can fall down and look how you can get back up.’
“And to see people like Conor, who actually does have children, say something like that, it was like, ‘Man, you’re missing the mark big time, bro.’ You’re missing it big time.”
