Nigeria’s own Kamaru Usman and his journey to UFC gold is something to behold. While the Texas resident may not involve himself in the trash-talk or flashy appearances, his resume speaks for itself. Aside from GSP, one can make the case for Usman to be the next best thing that has happened to UFC’s welterweight division.
In an episode of GQ Sports, Kamaru opened up on a variety of topics, one of which seemed to raise fans’ eyebrows. Since becoming a champion, Usman started to cash in big checks. With this, came a piece of friendly advice from a friend who suggested the former champion should invest in the “market”.
However, the Texas resident didn’t know how to do so very well. Thus, his friend introduced him to a lady who would do it for him. Describing that phase, Kamaru shares, “She was attractive and it was easy to be distracted.”
Fast forward, it ended up being what everyone would have thought. He goes into the details, “I give her about $60,000. Haven’t seen that money since. I don’t think I did my due diligence as far as the homework and research behind this person. [The money] just flew away.”
How does Kamaru Usman spend his money?
While it seems all gold and glittery for the former Pound-for-pound king, it wasn’t always like this for Kamaru Usman. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ had to pay his dues to find the much-deserved success that he owns today. Growing up in Auchi, Nigeria came with its own hardships, but a determined Usman had to pave the way for his family to have a life he didn’t get.
As a farmer, life was a tad bit difficult compared to some of his UFC peers. At the ripe age of eight, he immigrated to the United States. In his words, he “learned a lot of money lessons from” his parents. This helped Kamaru in his life about to unfold as a champion.
Kamaru’s daughter Samairah‘s birthday was his first big purchase. Usman gifted her a white Nissan Maxima, costing him $30,000 and that includes money for the extravagant party he threw. His next big yet exotic purchase was a Rolex watch, adding up to $20,000.
With big fights comes hefty pay to give back to your coaches. Kamaru shares that after every fight, he likes to “deviate” at least 20% for his trainers and coaches. And per his calculations, he’s paid about $200,000 to them. Samairah goes to a private school and is currently in the third grade. For this Kamaru has allocated almost $45,000 so far.
A king in a stacked division would love to feel like a king outside the cage as well. This led to Kamaru buying his new home for a whopping $500,000. After being at the receiving end of an investment fraud, he lost $60,000. Kamaru became more conscious and invested another $30,000. Last but not the least, A brand new Range Rover Villar cost him a good $80,000.
