Reigning UFC welterweight titleholder Kamaru Usman shared his opinion on who he considers the greatest fighters in mixed martial arts history.
This Saturday night at UFC 278, Kamaru Usman will attempt to take a big step towards being included in the GOAT conversation himself when he battles Leon Edwards in the main event.
Usman’s already defended the UFC welterweight championship five times and if he does so for a sixth, he’ll be right up there with the most dominant champions of this or any other generation.
Of course, Usman is going to have his own thoughts on who should be featured in the GOAT debate, which is natural for any fighter at that level.
During a recent interview with ESPN, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ spoke candidly about who he believes should feature on this makeshift Mount Rushmore.
“I think in this sport, I mean, this is based on preferences, different guys have different preferences. I think skill wise and technique wise what these guys were able to show, I think Anderson Silva, Jon Jones. What these guys were able to bring, Georges St-Pierre, I would even say Dominick Cruz.”
Kamaru Usman has spoken before about his desire to potentially shift all the way up to light heavyweight and if he can do so successfully, potentially even winning a second world title, that would certainly vault him up the ladder – and would probably put him on par with Georges St-Pierre.
People have all long since wondered what would happen if Usman and GSP stepped inside a cage together and even though that ship has probably sailed, it’s still a fun dream match.
Kamaru Usman has established himself as one of the greatest UFC fighters of all-time.
UFC President Dana White has labeled him as the greatest welterweight of all-time, very high praise considering that Georges St-Pierre fought as a welterweight.
Although Dana White left Kamaru Usman out of his top-five UFC fighters, many believed that the list was motivated by who brought the UFC money. His recent ringing endorsements of Usman’s career speak volumes.
Besides stating that he has surpassed St-Pierre, White also stated that a victory over Leon Edwards at UFC 278 would put Usman at the level of Jon Jones and Anderson Silva.
‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ now has an opportunity to make history at UFC 278 by defeating Edwards, a victory that White made seem all but guaranteed.
While Edwards is at the top of his game, Usman just doesn’t seem beatable at this stage of his career.
Anything can happen in mixed martial arts, but picking Usman to lose for the first time in his UFC career seems unwise.
‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ continues to climb the all-time ranks and every title defense moves him closer to the top.
Watch Kamaru Usman’s full recent interview with ESPN bellow:
