Kamaru Usman welcomes Georges St-Pierre superfight to crown UFC’s true welterweight legend

Kamaru Usman has begun moving into a rarefied space in UFC history.

With his 13-0 record in the company and 18-1 overall, Usman is one of the top pound-for-pound fighters on the planet.

He successfully defended his UFC welterweight title against Gilbert Burns on Saturday at UFC 258 and with that win, he has now broken the

legendary Georges St-Pierre’s record for most consecutive wins at 170Ibs.

He also tied recently retired Khabib Nurmagomedov’s record for successive wins at the start of a UFC career and is now four from breaking Anderson Silva’s record of 16 straight victories.

“If Usman can keep doing what he’s doing, he’s going to go down as the greatest welterweight ever. Fact,” UFC president Dana White said after his most recent defence.

“Just look at who he’s fought and who he has to fight here in the future, it’s undeniable that this guy will go down as the best welterweight.

“The question is, where will he go down in the history of the sport?”

Some will point to Jon Jones and Georges St-Pierre making more than 10 title defences in their careers and a lot of purists consider that the mark of a legend in the sport.

Usman is currently at four defences, but if GSP wanted to return and give him the biggest title defence possible, the Nigerian Nightmare would be all for it.

“I don’t come in and say ‘Oh, I want a big fight. I want this, I want that,’” Usman told reporters. “Of course, I would like Georges, but I don’t want Georges because of money or anything like that. Like I said, I’m a competitor. I want Georges because Georges left on top. Georges can still do it. I see him training.

“Georges can still do it. So if there’s a potential for that big fight, if Georges wants to come back, then of course. Georges can cut the line. Absolutely.”

GSP was in talks to face Khabib in a super fight that both men dearly wanted, but UFC had some hesitations about the clash and that idea now appears dead.

But how would a prime Usman fair against a man who will be 40 in May? Not well in the champion’s eyes.

“I love Georges. I really do. [He’s] one of the inspirations when I started watching the sport. But I’m a whole different animal nowadays. It’s a different ballgame,” Usman continued.

“I love Georges, I think Georges is tough. I consider him [to be] one of the greatest. But a fight with me and Georges? Okay. Georges was the master of the jab, but you saw what I did with jabs,” he said in reference to the punishment handed out to Burns.