Kamaru Usman is a professional mixed martial artist and former freestyle wrestler who currently competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Usman was born in Nigeria and lived there as a child before his family migrated to Texas when he was eight years old. He came to wrestling relatively late, only taking up the sport when he was in his second year of high school. He came third in the Texas State Championship and was accepted into several colleges including William Penn University where he competed for a year. He later transferred to the University of Nebraska at Kearney and reached the national folkstyle finals twice during his college career. He was named NCAA Division 2 champion in 2010 and soon after leaving university joined the US Olympic Training Center to train in freestyle wrestling. In 2011, Usman turned his attention to mixed martial arts, becoming an MMA coach and joining The Ultimate Fighter promotion in 2015. He went on to put in a series of winning performances over the next few years, earning himself a reputation as a consistent and skillful fighter, taking on a series of opponents and clocking up a nine fight winning streak in the UFC.

In 2019 Usman was named the UFC Welterweight Champion, a title he has retained ever since.

This talented and determined fighter continues to put in great performances in the UFC, and has been nicknamed The Nigerian Nightmare.