The surging welterweight contender discusses the emergence of Nigerian talent in the UFC and the pride that comes with representing his heritage on the big stage.

Kamaru Usman fully understands the UFC’s decision to slide Darren Till into the main event slot opposite Tyron Woodley at UFC 228 on September 8 in Dallas, Texas.

Despite having twice as many victories inside the Octagon as the talented Scouser, the organization tabbed Till, fresh off a hometown showcase in Liverpool where he edged out two-time title challenger Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson after missing weight by four pounds to challenge for the welterweight title instead of Usman.

“I don’t take it personally to where I hate Darren Till or this and that – absolutely not; it’s not his fault at all,” said Usman, speaking with FanSided late last week. “Darren Till is a fighter – he’s doing what he can.

“I just feel like the promotion sees it as a market that is hungry and they’ve got kind of a leg in right now, where they’re trying to do some things in that market right now and it would serve them perfectly to have a champion from that market. I felt that they were going to do everything that they could to get him to that title fight.”

It’s easy to understand where Usman is coming from.

The UFC shifted the May fight card in Liverpool from Dublin to turn it into a homecoming showcase for Till and with the Octagon making a trip to London each year and interest in the sport continuing to be high throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland, having an active championship-level competitor from the region is a no-brainer.

With Michael Bisping having recently closed the book on his storied career in the UFC cage, sliding Till into potential assume the position vacated by “The Count” as the top British talent competing on the biggest stage in the sport is an obvious decision.

“It’s a simple transition for them to get in that market with Darren Till because guys like Bisping have already paved that trail,” said Usman. “They just need a new face and he’s doing a good job of being that guy, so more power to him.”

Unfortunately for Usman, who was born in Benin City, Nigeria and moved to the United States when he was 8-years-old, the African continent remains the one place where the UFC has yet to make inroads when it comes to growing the sport and developing potential markets, which means a showcase opportunity in front of his countrymen is going to have wait.

But it might come sooner than most people think.

Usman is at the vanguard of the current swell of talent from African nations making waves in the UFC, and as he sees it, the promotion is going to be forced to examine its future plans for the continent because as that crush of emerging contenders continue to excel, interest in those fighters and the sport as a whole is only going to continue to grow with them.

“As far as Africa, I kind of feel like they don’t know how to go about it,” said Usman. “It’s not that Africa doesn’t have the capabilities – we absolutely do have the capabilities – it’s really just having them invest the time (into developing the market).

“There is only so much they can continue to go without sitting down and saying, ‘We need to take a look at Africa here’ because when you’ve got guys like myself that close to the title, a guy like Franics (Ngannou) so close to the title and now you’ve got guys like Israel Adesanya so close to the title, making waves, that’s a conversation we’re going to have to have soon.”

“Very rarely do you get to be that guy that is placed in that situation to pave the way, so it means a whole lot to see the rise of it.”

Even without a strong UFC foothold in places like Nigeria or Cameroon, where Ngannou is from, Usman takes great pride in being at the forefront of this small, but powerful collection of emerging talents representing their African roots at the UFC level.

And it’s a position he doesn’t take lightly either.

“It’s a blessing to be there in the forefront and I just can’t wait to see how many more Nigerians continue to blaze that path and takeover the sport,” he said. “It means a whole lot. Very rarely do you get to be that guy that is placed in that situation to pave the way, so it means a whole lot to see the rise of it.

“Fighting is something that we all do around the world, especially in those African countries, those African nations. Fighting is something that is engrained in us. Obviously, Africa is a Third World continent where there is so much poverty. There’s wealth, but there is a vast amount of poverty, so at the end of the day, the only thing that you can do is continue to fight for not just what you’re doing, but also for your life.

“So when that way is paved and they realize ‘We can do this?’ and there is a way to do it and ‘We can get to that level,’ Africa is going to flood the sport.”

It’s part of why he makes a point of speaking Nigerian in the cage following each of his victories.

“In those countries, in those nations, when you go away into different countries, (as generations pass), you start to see that wash away – the roots, the language, the heritage,” explained Usman. “So when our Africans are able to hear that people that are being raised in other parts of the world still have their roots, still can speak the language, it gives them hope.

“It gives them life being able to hear that because it lets them know, ‘We’ve got people. We’ve got descendants all over the world and they’re making waves.’ It means a whole lot. It means a lot to me as well to be able to do that.”

Whether his time to challenge for the welterweight title comes early next month in Dallas as he believes it will or somewhere else down the line, Usman will continue to be a symbol of hope and possibility for others from Nigeria and various African nations.

And if he, Adesanya and the rest of the West African contingent rising up the ranks continue stacking wins and making waves, there will be a lot more Nigerian being spoken in the Octagon and a UFC foray to the last viable continent yet to host an event will be a must.

At the very least, it will merit a serious discussion; one Usman is ready to have soon.

“After September 8th, we’re going to have to have that conversation.”