[ad_1]
Kamaru Usman accomplished a lot on Saturday night at UFC 258 in Las Vegas. He won his 13th consecutive UFC welterweight fight, which broke Georges St-Pierre’s record for most wins at 170 pounds. Usman also tied the great Khabib Nurmagomedov for the second-most consecutive wins to start a UFC career, and is now three wins shy of tying Anderson Silva’s record of 16 in a row.
Oh, and that was also his 18th win overall. And guess what? That was the most impressive of those 18 wins.
Do not, Really.
Usman just stopped a fiery Gilbert Burns. He took Burns’ best shot in the first round, bounced back, and then finished Burns by TKO in the third round. He beat Burns via strikes, which, according to William Hill’s Caesars Sportsbook, was priced at +240.
Usman’s wrestling has always been there, and now the strike is coming together as well. Coach Trevor Wittman has done it again.
However, Usman kept repeating after the fight to “put some respect” on his behalf. He said it multiple times both in the cage and during his post-fight interview.
To the uninitiated, it may sound strange for a guy with his 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, their name never seems to come up right away. It’s usually Nurmagomedov, Jon Jones, Stipe Miocic, Israel Adesanya, Amanda Nunes … and then maybe Usman is talked about. But he is never mentioned among the best.
That is wrong and needs to change.
Usman is one of the UFC’s best competitors right now. He’s one of the best pound-for-pound fighters. He may not get the attention that others get, because his style during this dominant run hasn’t been very fan-friendly. However, a few more wins like this will change that.
However, one thing that he is not, at least yet, is the best welterweight ever. Yes, I know he just set a St-Pierre record, but Usman will have to break, or at least get close to, another to be in that conversation: successful title defenses. This was Usman’s third successful defense of the title; GSP was 9. There is a huge difference.
That’s not to diminish Usman, and it shouldn’t be taken that way. You are now in Matt Hughes / Pat Miletich territory. That is an esteemed company. But he’s not the GOAT welterweight, at least not yet.
Usman has this in common with an excellent GSP, however: He’s running out of new opponents, and fast. Usman has wins over 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.
He was curious to see if Usman would call someone after his victory or just let the division develop on its own. And wouldn’t you know? He yelled at his old 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 isn’t really looking forward to fighting Covington next. I am told that Masvidal dislikes him so much that he would rather not pay him any attention. Of course, Masvidal would, but it’s not his first choice. However, he would love to fight Usman for the title again, and this time to do it with a full camp under his belt, as opposed to the fight he agreed to a week in advance in July.
UFC has been trying to book Masvidal vs. Covington for weeks. The matchmakers even discussed having them as the new trainers in “The Ultimate Fighter,” sources said. The deal is simply not being done. That’s why Dana White said Friday that she would consider booking Covington vs. Edwards below. In fact, there has been no serious talk about making that fight; White’s comment was more of a bargaining ploy, for now at least, than reality.
Now you can bet that Masvidal will use this tag to boost his 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 then fighting afterward, of course.
Let’s do it. YOU F. 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 capitalize on the call by promising a title shot to the Covington-Masvidal winner. Two for the price of one. I mean, it’s not like Usman is going to turn around and fight in a couple of months anyway.
Or the UFC can just run the fight against Masvidal. We all wanted to see him for months last year before failed negotiations led to the Usman vs. Burns. Then Burns tested positive for COVID-19 and, well, you know how the rest went. Also, the UFC needs some big-name TUF coaches.
For now, though, Usman should feel pretty good about himself. Made history. You are now in conversation with some legends.
And you don’t have to worry about anyone not respecting your name anytime soon.
[ad_2]
