Kamaru Usman scored a lot on Saturday night at UFC 258. He won the 13th consecutive UFC welterweight bout, which broke Georges St-Pierre’s record for most wins in a row at 170. Also at tied the great Khabib Nurmagomedov for the second victory in a row to start a UFC career. And he is now three wins away from tying Anderson Silva’s record of 16 in a row.
Oh, and that was his 18th overall victory. And guess what? This was the most impressive of the 18 victories.
Not, really.
He just stopped a hot Gilbert Burns. He took Burns’ best shot in the first round, came back and then finished with TKO in the third round. He defeated Burns by strikes, which, according to Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill, were priced at +240.
His struggle has always been there, and now the strike is approaching. Coach Trevor Wittman did it again.
However, Usman continued to repeat after the fight to “respect” his name. He said it several times both in the cage and during his post-fight interview.
For the uninitiated, it may sound strange for a guy with his resume to demand respect, but he has a point. When it comes to UFC faces – or even the best in the UFC – his name never seems to appear immediately. They’re usually Khabib, Jon Jones, Stipe Miocic, Israel Adesanya, Amanda Nunes … and maybe they’re talking about Usman. But he was never mentioned among the best.
It’s wrong and needs to change.
Usman is one of the best UFC athletes right now. He’s a top fighter. He may not attract the attention of others because his style in this dominant run was not very friendly with the fans. However, a few more victories like this will change that.
One thing he isn’t, though – at least not yet – is the heaviest welterweight ever. Yes, I know he just broke a GSP record, but he’ll have to beat – or at least get close to – another to be in that conversation: defending the title successfully. This was Usman’s fourth successful defense. GSP had 11. There is a massive difference.
This is not to diminish Usman and should not be taken that way. He is now in the territory of Matt Hughes / Pat Miletich. This is a esteemed company. But he’s not a welterweight goat. Not yet, at least.
However, he has this in common with a major GSP: he stays with new opponents. And fast. He defeats Jorge Masvidal, Colby Covington, Leon Edwards (though before Usman and Edwards are the fighters they are today) and now Burns, to name a few.
I was curious to see if he would call anyone after his victory or just let the division play alone. And you wouldn’t know that, he shouted 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 doesn’t fight too hard in the fight with Covington. I liked it so much that he would rather not pay any attention to it, I’m told. Of course, he would, but it’s not his first choice. However, he would love to fight Usman again for the title and this time he will do so with a full camp under his belt, as opposed to the one-week fight with which he agreed to return in July.
UFC tries to book Masvidal vs. Covington weeks ago. Matchmakers even talked about having them as new coaches at “The Ultimate Fighter,” sources say. The deal does not end. That’s why Dana White said Friday that she will consider Covington vs. Edwards. In fact, there was no serious talk about this fight. His comment was more of a bargaining chip, at least for now, than reality.
You can now bet that Masvidal will use this call to push the title. In fact, just moments after Usman’s comments, Masvidal’s co-manager, Malki Kawa, dropped the idea for Usman and Masvidal to serve as TUF coaches – and then fight after that, of course.
Let’s do it. TUFF. 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 also see that the UFC is trying to stimulate the call by promising the Covington-Masvidal winner a title. Two for the price of one. I mean, it doesn’t look like Usman will come back and fight in a few months anyway.
Or the UFC can roll back the fight against Masvidal. We all wanted to see her for months last year, before the failed negotiations lead to the promotion of Usman vs. Burns. Then Burns gave positive results for COVID-19 and, well, you know how the rest went. In addition, the UFC needs some renowned TUF coaches.
For now, though, Usman should feel pretty good about himself. He made history. He is now in conversation with some legends.
And he doesn’t have to worry that no one will soon live up to his name.