UFC star Kamaru Usman has admitted he remains "scared" of entering the cage every time he fights but is fuelled by the competition of the sport.
The promotion's pound-for-pound king has just completed another defence of his welterweight title with a rematch victory over bitter rival Colby Covington at UFC 268.
He is currently undefeated during his time in the UFC with no contender currently able to wrestle the belt away from the 'Nigerian Nightmare'.
But the 34-year-old has admitted he is still "afraid" of fighting but is driven by the prospect of competition and courage.
"I still don't like fighting. To be honest, I still do not like fighting," Usman told Bounce. "I think for me it is competition that drives me.
"That's what I really think fuels me, the competition in that aspect, in that arena, is what really fuels me. I don't necessarily like to fight. I'm still afraid to fight.
"Each and every fight I'm afraid but it's one of those things that you can flip the switch.
"You can turn it on or you can turn it off, so yeah, I could be afraid to do it but when it's time to do it, I'm courageous enough to flip that switch and go out there and take care of business."
Usman has beaten some stellar names during his dominant period at the pinnacle of the 170lb division including Jorge Masvidal, Gilbert Burns and Tyron Woodley.
And despite being heavily tested by Covington during their two meetings Usman remains the man to beat in the UFC.
However Usman has now admitted he has found respect for 'Chaos' after the rivalry delivered a pair of incredible spectacles.
"I know there’s a lot of bad blood here and there probably still will be after the fight," Usman said. "But I got to give it up to Colby – he’s a tough son of a b****.
“I can tell his coaches had been working on his power and his punches, so I had to show him some respect."
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Usman has frequently hinted at a switch over to boxing after voicing his displeasure at the financial reward available for his domination.
This has resulted in the Nigerian calling out Mexican pound-for-pound star Canelo Alvarez for a meeting in the iron square.
But the Mexican has refused to entertain any challenge from Usman brutally labelling it as a "payday" grab.
And UFC president Dana White has also ruled out any crossover bout between the pair and wants to stop this "s***".
“I watched the Canelo fight,” White admitted following a dramatic night at UFC 268.
“You don’t want to fight Canelo. You don’t want to fight Canelo. Come on, come on man. Let’s stop this s***.”
