Michael Bisping believes that as great as Kamaru Usman has been during his flawless UFC run, there needs to be some brakes pumped by those who believe he has already surpassed Georges St-Pierre.
Kamaru Usman is riding high after stomping out Gilbert Burns’s hopes of dethroning him at UFC 258, and he immediately called for the masses to “put some respect” on his name. Some people have decided to acquiesce to Usman’s demand and put so much respect on it that they have hoisted it above GSP’s name on the welterweight GOAT list.
Former opponent of GSP and UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping believes this is a premature overreaction based on the discrepancy in title matches between St-Pierre and Usman.
“A lot of people talking about Kamaru Usman potentially being the greatest of all time and making comparisons to Georges St-Pierre,” Bisping said on his Believe You Me Podcast. “Of course over the weekend he extended his wins to 13 in a row, which is incredible. And the big news was, though, he’s surpassed Georges St-Pierre’s record of 12, which is awesome. A 13-fight win streak in the UFC is incredible.
“I mean, Kamaru looked great, but I think it kind of discredits the body of work that Georges put in to be saying that just yet. Kamaru may go on to be that guy, but I think how many defense now? Three? He took the belt off of Woodley, Covington, Masvidal, and (Burns). So it’s three so far, which, again, is sensational. It’s incredible. Now pound for pound, he has to be top 3, top 4 for sure if not even higher. But it’s just too early for Kamaru.”
Kamaru Usman Has Long Road Ahead To Sway Minds
Georges St-Pierre has a total of nine successful welterweight title defenses and is 11-2 in title fights for the undisputed UFC welterweight strap. Usman, on the contrary, is only 4-0 in title fights. One notable difference between the two that should be highlighted, though, is that St-Pierre began receiving title shots four fights into his UFC career in a much slimmer welterweight division while Usman had a more drawn-out, arduous climb to the top without suffering a defeat.
To Bisping’s point, though, generations from now, most MMA historians may only look at the sheer number of title defenses to be the final if not primary determinant on who had a greater overall career at 170 between St-Pierre and Usman. If so, Usman has a lot of work to do to shift such present and future minds.
Do you agree with Michael Bisping? Is it too premature to say Kamaru Usman has surpassed GSP as the greatest welterweight of all time?
