Georges St-Pierre believes Kamaru Usman is deserving of an immediate title rematch against Leon Edwards. The former UFC two-division champion was recently asked if he considers Khamzat Chimaev ready for a title shot.
‘Rush’ stated that he would first like to see Usman get a chance to reclaim his title against Edwards, with Chimaev potentially fighting the winner of that bout. ‘GSP’ said in an interview with The Schmo:
“Well, as a fan I’d like to see Kamaru Usman get a revenge because if someone deserve it, it’s him. And maybe perhaps Chimaev have a shot against the winner of this fight.”
Usman’s shocking fifth-round KO loss against ‘Rocky’ had an uncanny resemblance to Georges St-Pierre’s first-round KO loss to Matt Serra in 2007, arguably the greatest upset in UFC history.
‘Rush’ exacted revenge against Serra via a dominant second-round TKO at UFC 83 the following year. Asked about his advice for Usman, the UFC Hall-of-Famer further said:
“I know it’s a hard time for him, because when you lose, you know, it’s not a pleasant experience. But he has an opportunity to take that and turn it around to a 180 degree. And I think if he is successful it will help his legacy… Everybody makes mistakes and I’m not saying that to diminish Leon Edwards… What I am saying is Usman can learn from that experience and come back better next time.”
Georges St-Pierre weighs in on Khamzat Chimaev’s double-champ aspirations
Khamzat Chimaev has competed at both middleweight and welterweight, establishing himself as a legitimate threat in both divisions. While ‘Borz’ has been more active at welterweight, his recent weight miss has led to talks of a potential move up to middleweight in the near future.
Chimaev has been quite vocal regarding his aspirations of becoming a two-division UFC champion. The Chechen-born Swede has confidently issued callouts to Israel Adesanya in the past as well.
According to Georges St-Pierre, who has won gold at both welterweight and middleweight, Chimaev definitely has the skillset to achieve the same feat. However, ‘GSP’ believes ‘Borz’ will face tough challenges in capturing the straps at both weight classes. The UFC Hall of Famer recently told Helen Yee:
“He has the skills to definitely do it. He’s got a very flamboyant skill. You know, like he’s very good, he’s killing it right now. But it’s a tough challenge. He’s gonna have to pass now Leon Edwards, he’s champion, and you got also Colby Covington and you got Kamaru Usman… Then the middleweight division you got Adesanya, seems invincible, untouchable in the middleweight division. And you got Paulo Costa, we know that he [Chimaev] has a beef with.”
Watch Georges St-Pierre’s interview with The Schmo below: