Georges St-Pierre has commented on Kamaru Usman who is considered by some the best welterweight fighter of all time following his third-round TKO win over Gilbert Burns at UFC 258.
‘GSP’ is widely regarded as the best 170lb fighter of all time. The Canadian standout is a two division UFC champion who has beaten every man he has shared the Octagon with. St-Pierre made nine defences of his welterweight strap.
Usman currently sits on just three title defences but broke the UFC record for most consecutive welterweight wins.
‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ has picked up 13 straight victories since joining the promotion in 2015.
In an interview with ESPN, St-Pierre admitted Usman is part of a new wave of fighters who are better than the generation before them, he said.
“In terms of accomplishments, it’s different. I’ve done stuff that I believe he hasn’t done yet. But I’m gonna tell you the truth and as painful as it could be for any athlete to admit it, the athletes of today are normally better than the athletes of yesterday. As good as the athletes of today are, the athletes of tomorrow will be better. That’s how it is. I don’t care who you are. Even if you’re Usain Bolt, you beat the world record, in a few years there will be another guy that comes and beats your record. I don’t think it’s because the guys are better, it’s because the technology is better and it’s the same thing in mixed martial arts.
“We cannot measure the performance like in sprinting or in weight lifting, but we can only speculate and, of course, time for time, maybe he didn’t win 11 (title fights), but he’s raising the bar,” St-Pierre continued. “And if I don’t admit that, that means I’m insulting the entire UFC roster. That means I’m saying the sport is regressing, and it’s not true. I believe the sport is getting better. Do I feel that if I go back in my prime and I could fight Kamaru Usman, I do think, yes, I could have done it. However, I know for a fact that as time goes by, guys get better.”
‘GSP’ accepts that some will forget his accomplishments amid the ongoing success of Usman.
“Mixed martial arts is a sport about what’s next, and it’s always been like that,” St-Pierre said. “The champion that will come after Kamaru Usman, we will promote him as the ‘best guy ever’ who’s better than Georges St-Pierre, who’s better than Kamaru Usman, but it’s the same thing.
“Now we have Kamaru Usman, we have Israel Adesanya – we don’t talk about Anderson Silva anymore. We talk about Israel Adesanya, and that’s OK. That’s how the sport is, and we have to accept it. I know how it is, and we like to be remembered for the stuff that we’ve done, we put a lot of effort into it, but that’s the reality, and I accept it. I make peace with it. It was hard in the beginning, but I make peace with it.” (Transcribed by MMA Junkie)
Who do you think is the best 170lb fighter of all time? Georges St-Pierre or Kamaru Usman?