Unbeaten in his last 11 fights and a perfect 7-0 in the UFC, Kamaru Usman looks to continue his march to the top of the welterweight division against Demian Maia at UFC Chile.

Kamaru Usman started preparing for his run towards the top of the UFC welterweight division long before he got the call to compete in the Octagon.

A pro for less than six years, the 31-year-old welterweight contender transitioned to mixed martial arts following a standout career on the wrestling mats at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, where he was a three-time All-American and won a Division II National title as a senior.

Though he initially intended to chase his Olympic dreams, the idea of moving to mixed martial arts piqued his interest and eventually led to an invitation to train in South Florida with an emerging squad that would become known as The Blackzilians.

“My mentor is ‘Suga’ Rashad Evans and I’ve been on the road with him,” says Usman, who served an apprenticeship at the side of the former light heavyweight champion and developed his skills in a room flush with accomplished, experienced veterans. “I’ve done this whole process with him countless times, including where he’s headlining a pay-per-view and I did his media tour with him, I did the workouts with him, I traveled with him, so I’ve seen it first-hand.

“He’s essentially prepared me for these moments and so how ironic is it that to fly out to get here, he drove me to the airport?”

Usman laughs, appreciating the moment and reflecting on reaching a place in his career that he has always felt destined to reach.

Even before he inked a deal to compete in the Octagon, Usman was one of those regional standouts that his teammates couldn’t stop raving about and not just because he was one of their boys and they wanted to give him a little shine.

It’s the same way everyone at Team Alpha Male spoke highly of T.J. Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt before they arrived on the biggest stage in the sport and how Frankie Edgar, Mark Henry and others associated with New Jersey’s Iron Army sung the praises of this Dagestani dude who was killing it in the gym and would be a force to be reckoned with once he made it to the UFC.

Three fights in, Zabit Magomedsharipov has been as good as advertised.

Usman was that guy with The Blackzilians and earned the praise of his decorated and distinguished teammates through the same approach that has carried him into contention in the welterweight division today – by keeping his head down, staying humble and working harder than anyone else in the gym.

“I was thrown into the deep end right away,” says Usman, recalling his early days taking his lumps and learning valuable lessons on the mats in Boca Raton. “You’re in a room with Tyrone Spong, ‘Suga’ Rashad Evans, Anthony Johnson, Cosmo Alexandre, Michael Johnson, JZ Cavalcante, Jorge Santiago and you have to survive in that room and I came in as a wrestler, that’s it.

“I had no striking. I had never boxed before, amateur or professional. I came in as strictly as a wrestler and you’re getting beat up and smashed.

“But then you get to a point where you’re not getting smashed as much. Then you get to a point where you’re holding your own. And then you get to a point where that round was kind of even and then where I’m winning rounds against these guys and these guys are like, ‘Yo – you’re going to be the best.’”

It’s those battles, those hours logged grinding alongside former champions and perennial contenders that shaped Usman into the fighter he is today and instilled in him the confidence to declare himself the best fighter in the welterweight division and push for the opportunity to prove it.

“I believe I’m the best and for all five years that I was learning, I didn’t come out screaming, ‘I’m the best on the planet,’” he says. “I was a sponge in the gym soaking up enough knowledge as I could so that when my lane opened up, I was ready to step in there and be the best.

“Now is the time for me to let everyone know, ‘This lane needs to open up or I’m going to kick it open!’ because I am the best at this.”

Saturday’s meeting with Demian Maia in the main event of the UFC’s inaugural fight card in Santiago, Chile is another chance for Usman to back up his claims – a showdown with one of the most accomplished and experienced competitors on the roster and someone he’s been angling to face for almost two years.

“I asked for Demian two years ago when he was looked at as unstoppable,” Usman says, alluding to the night he suggested a showdown with the Brazilian standout following his victory over Warlley Alves in Maia’s hometown of Sao Paulo. “I would have liked to have gotten him at that point, but it is what it is.

“Demian Maia is Demian Maia – he’s a legend in the game and he’s been in the game a long time. Nothing but respect for him, but it’s my time to take over and showcase that it’s my time now.”

A victory over Maia would give Usman eight straight victories to begin his UFC tenure and push his overall winning streak to an even dozen.

Even with a glut of crucial welterweight contests on the horizon, that kind of prolonged run of success while continually facing tougher competition would be hard to overlook and should earn “The Nigerian Nightmare” a date with a Top 5 opponent.

But Usman isn’t holding his breath.

“Now is the time for me to let everyone know, ‘This lane needs to open up or I’m going to kick it open!’ because I am the best at this.”

“I’ve been disappointed so many times to where I’ve learned and I don’t have expectations anymore,” says Usman, who has repeatedly sought out tough matchups without any of those pairings materializing. “There’s not a name because I don’t want to disappoint myself anymore. I did it with Demian Maia. I did it with (Rafael dos Anjos). I did it with Colby (Covington).

“It makes it challenging because I didn’t get into this to just be a fighter because I can’t get a job anywhere else. I’m educated. I went to college. I can get a job and do something else, but I do this to compete and so when those guys above me are not willing to give me that opportunity to compete and continue to elevate towards that title, it’s extremely frustrating and it kills my buzz for wanting to continue to do this.

“It’s starting to show now that guys are visibly not trying to fight me and it’s been hard to get to this point,” he adds. “I’ve said I want to be champion and I’m not here to fight just anybody – I’m here to fight the best, move up and continue to elevate, so it’s up to the UFC to find that guy to elevate me toward that title because no one has been able to solve the puzzle yet.

“Demian Maia went on a 7-0 run and got a title shot. (With a victory on Saturday night), I’m going to be on an 8-0 run, so we’ll see what happens.”

And how does he foresee himself earning that eighth consecutive UFC victory?

“For me, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” he laughs. “What I’ve been doing has been working so far, so what’s the point of changing anything? I continue to keep my head down, stay humble, work as hard as I can, be the hardest worker in the gym and that’s carrying me places, so there is no point in changing that now.

“If everything goes according to plan, I’m dominating from start to finish. Whether it ends with a submission, by KO, by five-round beating – that’s what I aim to do. I am going to be dominant from start to finish.”