Kamaru Usman achieved a lot on Saturday night at UFC 258 in Las Vegas. He won his 13th straight welterweight fight in the UFC, which broke Georges St-Pierre’s record of most wins, with 170 pounds. Usman also drew with the great Khabib Nurmagomedov for the second biggest consecutive victory to start his UFC career, and is now three wins away from equalizing Anderson Silva’s record of 16 consecutive.
Oh, and that was his 18th overall win, too. And guess what? That was the most impressive of those 18 victories.
No, same.
Usman just stopped a sizzling Gilbert Burns. He got Burns’ best shot in the first round, recovered and submitted Burns by technical knockout in the third round. He defeated Burns through attacks, which, according to William Hill’s Caesars Sportsbook, cost +240.
Usman’s fight has always been there, and now striking is also happening. Coach Trevor Wittman did it again.
Still, Usman continued to repeat after the fight to “put some respect” on his behalf. He said this several times in the cage and during the post-fight interview.
For the uninitiated, it may seem strange for a guy with your resume to ask for respect, but Usman is right. When we talk about the faces of the UFC – or even the best of the UFC – his name never seems to come up right away. It’s usually Nurmagomedov, Jon Jones, Stipe Miocic, Israel Adesanya, Amanda Nunes … and then maybe Usman will be discussed. But he is never mentioned among the best.
This is wrong and needs to change.
Usman is one of the best UFC competitors today. He is a top pound-for-pound fighter. He may not get the attention of others, because his style during this dominant race has not been very friendly to fans. However, a few more victories like this will change that.
One thing he is not – at least not yet – is the greatest welterweight of all time. Yes, I know he just broke a St-Pierre record, but Usman will have to beat – or at least get closer to – another to get into that conversation: successful title defenses. This was Usman’s third successful title defense; GSP was 9. There is a huge difference.
This is not to diminish Usman, and should not be interpreted in this way. He is now in the territory of Matt Hughes / Pat Miletich. It is a esteemed company. But he is not the GOAT welterweight – not yet, at least.
Usman has this in common with a main GSP, however: he is killing new opponents – and fast. Usman defeated Jorge Masvidal, Colby Covington, Leon Edwards (although before Usman and Edwards were the fighters they are today) and now Burns, just to name a few.
I was curious to see if Usman would call someone out after his victory or just let the division play alone. And you wouldn’t know, he called his former enemy Masvidal.
What a gift it was for the BMF champion. I felt like I could hear Masvidal celebrating thousands of miles away, in South Florida.
You see, Masvidal is not really looking to fight Covington next. Masvidal doesn’t like him so much that he prefers not to give him any attention, I was told. Sure, Masvidal would do that, but it’s not your first choice. He would, however, love to fight Usman for the title again, and this time with a full camp on his resume, as opposed to the fight he agreed to a week in advance in July.
The UFC has been trying to score Masvidal vs. Covington for weeks. Matchmakers even discussed having them as the new coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter”, sources said. The deal is simply not being closed. That’s why Dana White said on Friday that she would consider Covington’s next reservation. Edwards. In fact, there was no serious conversation about making this fight; White’s comment was more of a negotiating ploy, at least for now, than reality.
Now you can bet that Masvidal will use this callout to try the title shot. In fact, moments after Usman’s comments, Masvidal’s co-manager, Malki Kawa, dismissed the idea of Usman and Masvidal serving as TUF coaches – and fighting later, of course.
Let’s do it. TUF. Masvidal vs usman. We accept.
– malki kawa (@malkikawa) February 14, 2021
Usman-Masvidal 2? Edwards-Covington? Not a bad Plan B. Will the UFC bite?
I can also see the UFC trying to jumpstart the call, promising the Covington-Masvidal winner a shot at the title. Two for the price of one. I mean, it’s not like Usman is going to turn around and fight in a few months anyway.
Or the UFC may simply delay the fight against Masvidal. We all wanted to see this for months in the past year, before failed negotiations led to the promotion of the Usman Vs. reserve. Burns. So Burns tested positive for COVID-19 and, well, you know how it went. In addition, the UFC needs some renowned TUF coaches.
For now, however, Usman must feel very good about himself. He made history. He is now talking to some legends.
And he doesn’t have to worry about anyone not putting any respect on his behalf anytime soon.