Kamaru Usman is laying down in his bed inside Room 783 of the Hilton Anatole on Thursday night dreading what the next few hours will be like as he pulls the covers over his body and closes his eyes.
"This is going to be a tough weight cut," Usman said. "They're all tough but this one is going to suck."
It's a particularly tough weight cut for two reasons. First, Usman is 183 pounds on the eve of a weigh-in where he must be 170 pounds in order to have a chance to fight for the UFC welterweight championship. Second -- and this is a new one for the 31-year-old native of Nigeria -- Usman is making weight for a fight he technically doesn't have.