Kamaru Usman’s loss to Dricus du Plessis at UFC Oklahoma City may have come under far more difficult circumstances than many fans realized. Days after dropping a unanimous decision to the former middleweight champion, the ex-UFC welterweight king revealed he entered the fight with a torn pectoral muscle. He also admitted retirement is now a conversation he needs to have with his team.
Torn Pec Limited Usman’s Game Plan
The injury came to light during the latest episode of the Pound 4 Pound podcast, where co-host Henry Cejudo shared that Usman was far from fully healthy heading into the main event.
“A lot of people don’t know this, but you fought with a torn pec.”
“And I didn’t like this from the beginning.”
Cejudo believed the injury played a major role in Usman’s inability to rely on his wrestling against Du Plessis.
“A lot of people were giving you a lot of s—t because DDP was stopping your takedowns.”
“But how can you get to those positions when you don’t have a f—king pec?”
Usman refused to use the injury as an explanation for the defeat.
“I understand that, Henry, but it is what it is.”
“We roll the dice every time, so there are no excuses.”
Retirement Talks Now on the Table
The loss to Du Plessis marked another setback for the former welterweight champion, who has now dropped four of his last five fights.
After the event, Usman admitted he needs time to evaluate whether another run inside the Octagon is worth pursuing.
“Listen, right now I just have to sit with the coaches, sit with the team, assess everything, assess the place where I’m at in my career.”
At 39 years old and recovering from another significant injury, Usman now faces one of the biggest decisions of his career as he weighs whether to continue competing in the UFC.