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How Many More Wins Before Kamaru Usman is in the GOAT Conversation?

April 29, 2021
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UFC 261 was this past weekend and boy was it a good one! Certainly the best show of 2021 thus far and arguably top 10 of all time I would guess.

Speaking of all time, Kamaru Usman is beginning to really set himself apart from his peers.

He said himself that he has already passed everybody and is now lapping them. Well, he ain’t lying. Kamaru Usman also wasn’t lying when he said:

“I’m a problem.”

That is a powerful statement and one that he continues to back up. Whether it is the jab he dropped Gilbert Burns with or the straight right that sent Masvidal’s sweat all the way back to Miami for him, Kamaru Usman is exactly that, a problem.

For years, we have had fighters as dominant if not more during the peak of their runs as Kamaru is right now but they weren’t exactly succeeding with contrasting styles. That is just one of the things about The Nigerian Nightmare that make this man great.

But how great?

That is the question I want to answer today. When will he be talked about as one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time? I am pretty close to saying right now. There is a lot of recent bias as he has been winning a lot of fights lately and doing so in devastating fashion.

3 dominant wins in 9 months. 50-45 across the board, 2nd Round TKO, 2nd Round KO.

GSP wasn’t doing this. He went 5 years of his prime with no finishes. And he was fighting 5 round fights against guys like Dan Hardy and Johnny Hendricks. Kamaru is finishing Colby Covington, Gilbert Burns, and now, Jorge Masvidal.

There are levels to this stuff and even Georges said himself:

In terms of accomplishments, it is different. I have done stuff that I believe he didn’t do yet… But as painful as it could be for any athlete to admit it, the athletes of today are normally better than the athletes of yesterday. And as good as the athletes of today are, the athletes of tomorrow will be better. That’s how it is. I don’t think the guys are better, I think the technology is better…

He hasn’t been on top as long as Georges was YET. I think it is coming, though, for The Nigerian Nightmare Kamaru Usman.

Who Are Our GOATS of MMA?

Jon Jones

Let’s start with Bones. First of all, he is undefeated, virtually at least.

I don’t know for how long, though, because if he challenges Francis Ngannou, I have to be honest and say I am betting against Bones in that fight.

Heck, he was arguably defeated in each of his previous two title defenses at light heavyweight. Now, he is making the move up to the UFC’s heavyweight division to take on the scariest man ever at the 265 pound limit.

Jon is certainly doing what he needs to do for his legacy because it is slipping away.

If Kamaru Usman continues to do what he is doing against high level competition, I can see the discussion commencing very soon.

Kamaru isn’t where Jones is at this moment but we should be clear about this: Usman is beating some of the best fighters of all time at 170 pounds and doing it in their respective primes.

Please Note:
In boxing, Floyd Mayweather has a nice list of wins, 50 in fact, but he was very smart about it. He fought Canelo Alvarez early while he was still developing and he fought most of his other high level opponents late in their careers.

I love Mayweather’s game but it’s no secret. Kamaru Usman, even though he has a good manager, does not take the same approach and neither does the UFC for that matter.

He is going to fight the #1 contender and right now, that will be Colby Covington next. If Kamaru beats Colby convincingly here and Jon loses badly against Francis, we could talk about it.

Anderson Silva

I am forcing myself to be completely honest here and I hate it but I think Kamaru Usman at 185 would give even the primest of prime Anderson Silva a good run. Andy had a really hard time in the first Chael Sonnen fight.

It could have been related to the something like 17 banned substances Chael tested positive for after that fight but Silva’s slight weakness is the massive strength of Kamaru Usman. Chael dropped Anderson because of the takedown threat and Kamaru has a lot more power than Sonnen.

Right now, though, you just can’t say Usman is the GOAT over Anderson or Jon Jones but he may still make it inside the top 3.

Georges St Pierre

We spoke a bit of GSP already. He is a different kind of fighter than Kamaru but ask yourself this: If prime Kamaru, the Usman we know today, fought the very best Georges St Pierre that we have ever seen, who would win?

Better yet, let’s handicap it. Sorry, Georgio. I have Kamaru Usman as the (-220) favorite. That line might seem wide to some people but believe it or not, St Pierre is not that big of a guy naturally.

I have trained with him a couple of times and people saw the pictures and said WOW, he is small.

His muscles aren’t small. His core, legs, and shoulders are massive but his frame is nowhere near the bone structure of The Nigerian Nightmare.

Frame matters and I think Usman is a better pound for pound fighter than GSP without the size difference. Georges is barely 5’8” tall. The UFC’s Welterweight Division has evolved since. This goes back to the quote from GSP himself. “The athletes of today are generally better than those of yesterday. And he was answering a question about Kamaru being the better fighter between the two of them.

Khabib Nurmagomedov

Here is the one I really wanted to touch on and make the comparison. When Khabib Nurmagomedov retired after cutting through Justin Gaethje with ease, fans around the world were calling him the GOAT.

As dominant as he is, I can see the comparisons but he simply hasn’t put in enough time at the highest level. He has only been fighting top 5 fighters for the past 2 years. Prior to that, had a couple of fights against top 10 opponents but nothing else.

Anderson Silva fought #1 contenders for nearly 7 years without a loss. What about Kamaru vs Khabib, though? Does Usman have a better GOAT resume?

I think he does. Kamaru has defeated 5 top five fighters who were either champions or #1 contenders at the time. He beat Leon Edwards but it was years ago before the Brit reached his prime that he appears to be in right now.

I think Leon will smoke Nate Diaz like a Sunday sativa and challenge The Nigerian Nightmare. I don’t think Edwards will win. If a Brit can defend the takedown from a national champion American, then I will be very shocked.

Another big difference between Khabib and Kamaru is their striking prowess. Nurmagomedov isn’t knocking anyone out. He isn’t breaking jaws and sending sweat flying 40 feet into the crowd.

Kamaru Usman is a problem. Nurmagomedov had an incredible career and he never lost but Usman’s lone defeat was in his second professional fight and Jose Caceras was 3-3 at the time. If they fought again, how wide would the betting line be?

(-2000)? Mas?

How many grinders evolved their game at the peak of their careers into knockout artists? Too many names coming to mind at one time?

Yea, I didn’t think so. Kamaru doesn’t even have to! That’s what is so crazy about this. He knows he can grind out just about everyone in the division but he wants blood now.

Please Note:
The man is a different animal. I just worry that maybe he falls in love with the knockout and starts looking for it too much and gets himself caught. Under the tutelage of the great Trevor Wittman, I don’t see it happening, though.

Kamaru is so disciplined as well. I really like his chances to become at least for a little while, the greatest MMA fighter of all time.

In Conclusion

I think we answered our question today. Kamaru Usman is certainly part of the conversation of greatest MMA fighters of all time. He has only been at the top for the past 2 years, though. Jon Jones was the LHW champ minus a few suspensions from run ins with the law for nearly 9.

I suppose, though, that since this is a comparison of martial artists then Jon would have to be excluded from this category.

He has never really carried himself like a martial artist.

Jon is certainly a fighter and in the gym, a complete sponge who embodies all of the martial arts traits. The code doesn’t end there, though. You have to live it and he was just caught too many times for me to believe he lived it.

Please Note:
Khabib Nurmagomedov, conversely, lived the code but he stopped so soon after reaching the top of the mountain. Hey, I know why he did. His father passed away and he made a promise to his mother not to fight again.

I think he also feels a responsibility to coach, lead, and teach the younger generation because, of course, his father isn’t there to do it any longer. I don’t know how you don’t love Khabib.

Kamaru Usman appears to be as strong and just of a soul as there is. To many, that is boring and it always will be but the level of excellence he maintains is proof of a lot of hard work that most of his peers aren’t willing to do.

This includes staying in immaculate shape 24/7/365. The man is a machine and could very well be the greatest mixed martial artist of all time one day.

https://www.thesportsgeek.com/blog/how-many-more-wins-before-kamaru-usman-is-in-the-goat-conversation/

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