After seeing what’s being written it’s quite heartbreaking. Being on camera that whole day in preparation for The AKO show, it completely slipped my mind that my conversation was recorded. I realized after and asked about it. I take full responsibility for not properly watching…

— KAMARU USMAN (@USMAN84kg) January 8, 2026

UFC star Kamaru Usman has issued a public apology after accidentally sharing a private FaceTime conversation with British heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua, who was hospitalised following a car crash that killed two close friends.

The video, which was later deleted, captured an emotional exchange between both athletes, with Joshua describing the incident that claimed the lives of Latif Ayodele and Sina Ghami. Usman said the post was made unintentionally while preparing for the AKO show and accepted full responsibility for failing to keep the conversation private.

During the call, Joshua revealed the personal loss he suffered, saying, “Yeah,

obviously two of my friends passed away.”

As Usman sought clarification, he asked, “They were in the front, the two people in the front seat?” Joshua responded, “No, like one was in the front and one was behind him, so those two.”

Usman followed up, “Oh, on the right side, on the right side,” to which Joshua replied, “Yeah, on the right side, both passed away, yeah.”

Reflecting on the wider impact of the incident, Usman said, “I see that as a sign of envy, yeah,” before adding, “I know, we do not get to speak to you for the first time. I know, it is a funny way, it is a funny way of moving things, man. Hey, man, we thank God.”

He also spoke about the pressures faced by high profile athletes, saying, “And it is crazy because, you know, obviously we deal with the haters, we deal with all of the bullshit each and every time.”

Usman added, “You know, it sucks that it takes something serious like this to really see, you know, how many people have their eyes on you, on the world.”

Joshua responded quietly during the exchange, saying, “Oh, yeah, I know. I know that.”

He went on to acknowledge the global reaction to Joshua’s accident, saying, “Hey, you scared the world, I will tell you that right now. You scared the world. That is what it looks like when you are around a lot of people.”

Following the backlash after the clip circulated online, Usman issued a separate apology, stating that sharing the call was a mistake and stressing that the conversation was meant to remain private.

In a tweet on X on Thursday, Usman said: “After seeing what’s being written it’s quite heartbreaking. Being on camera that whole day in preparation for The AKO show, it completely slipped my mind that my conversation was recorded. I realized after and asked about it. I take full responsibility for not properly watching the video that was released and keeping my private conversation with my brother AJ private. SMH big L on me. That’s not something I would ever do to a friend/ brother.” (Arise News)

Update news