'He walked up the stairs' - Kamaru Usman reveals how Justin Gaethje reacted to Conor McGregor's loss at UFC 257

Conor McGregor's loss at UFC 257 led to Justin Gaethje having quite a reaction, according to Kamaru Usman.

In his recent interview with The Schmo, Kamaru Usman revealed that he watched UFC 257 with his new teammate Justin Gaethje. According to Usman, the Highlight was keen to watch how the main and co-main event would unfold. Usman stated that Gaethje has always wanted the fight against Conor McGregor and so, he seemed to be distressed at the Irishman's loss in the main event.

UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman is set to face Gilbert Burns for his next title defense at UFC 258. The two competitors have been former teammates at Sanford MMA and thus Kamaru Usman has decided to train under Trevor Whittman, who is also Justin Gaethje's head coach.

"Justin actually walked up the stairs. I think maybe at one point I heard, 'F**k!'. That is a fight that he wanted and rightfully so he deserves that fight. He is a competitor. He wanted to compete against that man [Conor McGregor]. Seeing that happen I think it kind of poked at him a little bit"

Justin Gaethje is in the mix of the upper echelon of UFC lightweights as he is currently ranked No.2 in the UFC. Had the Notorious one come out victorious at UFC 257, Gaethje could have been his next preferable opponent. Kamaru Usman thinks that Gaethje might entertain a fight with Michael Chandler next guessing by the way UFC 257 has unfolded.

Every punch Justin Gaethje and Tony Ferguson landed echoed through the empty arena at UFC 249.They also took the No. 5 spot on our 2020 Fights of the Year.Read more: https://t.co/zbc8QQMzB1 pic.twitter.com/5GBOZsdamN

— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) January 1, 2021

Why did Conor McGregor lose at UFC 257 according to Kamaru Usman?

Conor McGregor suffered the first TKO defeat of his professional career at the hand of Dustin Poirier at UFC 257. The Notorious one's inactivity due to a one-year lay-off was cited as the reason for this defeat.

Even Kamaru Usman is of the opinion that Conor McGregor did not realize that the leg kicks would take their toll as the fight proceeded further. Usman believes Conor McGregor approached the fight as if it was a boxing match and not an MMA bout.

"It was very tough for Conor [McGregor] to be out for so long and just trying to jump back in there and think that you can run through everybody. It is tough to do because when you are not very active not just in combat but actually in training as well, it's kind of difficult for you to feel that timing... I think Conor was boxing and briefly forgot that this is a mixed martial arts fight. Then Dustin started kicking and Conor tried to play mind games and threw a spin kick which landed. But by that point the leg had already been chewed up"

"We'll do it again!"All respect between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier after #UFC257.You can see the damage those leg kicks did 😳 pic.twitter.com/6m9SJeCpkg

— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) January 24, 2021

Despite the TKO loss, all three judges scored the first round in favor of Conor McGregor. This indicates that the Irishman is certainly one of the toughest lightweights in the UFC. Fans can expect an exciting 2021 as the Notorious one has promised to stay active this year.