Usman was hospitalized with COVID-19 after Masvidal win

Kamaru Usman battled a severe case of COVID-19 shortly after beating Jorge Masvidal at UFC 251 last July, he told ESPN's Dotun Akintoye in an interview published Thursday.

The welterweight champion was hospitalized five days after first experiencing symptoms and tested positive for the virus at the emergency room.

Usman said he woke up one morning last summer feeling weak and sick with no appetite and barely ate for three days. On the fourth day, the 33-year-old urinated blood due to dehydration, and he also lost his sense of smell and taste. Usman apparently thought he might die.

"Man, I just made all this money, and I'm not going to be able to spend it," Usman recalled thinking to himself.

Usman was prescribed antibiotics at the hospital and lived on fruit and vegetable smoothies. Eight days after experiencing the first symptoms, he had lost 17 pounds.

"The Nigerian Nightmare" has competed once since his COVID-19 diagnosis, knocking out Gilbert Burns in his third title defense in February.

Usman is scheduled to face Masvidal in a rematch during Saturday's UFC 261 main event in Jacksonville, Florida.