Kamaru Usman Wants GSP
Kamaru Usman further consolidated his place as the best welterweight in the world this past weekend. Now he’s targeting the greatest welterweight of all time.
Usman successfully defended his welterweight title following a fifth-round TKO triumph over Colby Covington at UFC 245 on Saturday night. Despite the nature of the finish, there is unlikely to be an immediate rematch so the attention turns to who “The Nigerian Nightmare” should face next. There are a number of contenders who could stake a claim for the next title shot with Jorge Masvidal being the most popular choice. However, Usman doesn’t care who it is. But if he had to pick who he wanted next, he’d choose the retired Georges St-Pierre.
“Honestly, I’m an equal opportunity guy kind of guy. I don’t really care who it is,” Usman told TMZ in a recent interview. “If I had to choose, of course I wants Georges. I want GSP. One more win and I tie him for most consecutive wins [at welterweight] and how sweet would it be to actually get that win off of him? … That would be an extremely exciting fight because I think we are the two hybrids of the welterweight division. Since the welterweight division has been going on, [At] PRESENT I think he and I are the two hybrids.
“When he came on the scene, he could do it all — systematically break guys down to make the fight look easy. I just think that I’m a better level of that. I’ve got the power, I’ve got the cardio, I’ve got the strength, I’ve got the speed. And so, I think it’s a big, big, big fight. All due respect to Georges, but I think I finish him.”
Of course, St-Pierre officially announced his retirement earlier this year after he failed to get a fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov to come to fruition. Usman is not the first welterweight champion to target a fight with “Rush” either. Tyron Woodley previously tried as well to no avail. Maybe with a few more wins, Usman could potentially entice St-Pierre out of retirement.
