Kamaru Usman believes there’s no better fighter than himself today.
Usman successfully defended his welterweight title after an emphatic second-round knockout win over Jorge Masvidal in the UFC 261 headliner last night.
It was particularly impressive given that he called for the fight as he wasn’t satisfied with his unanimous decision win over Masvidal last summer. And he certainly delivered.
“Absolutely (I knew I could knock him out),” Usman said at the post-fight press conference (via MMA Junkie). “There’s two setups to that right hand that I just envisioned them landing. That one was one of them. I tried the second one in the first round, but he’s a veteran. He’s game, and he saw it coming. I just had to stay composed, and I was going to find it.
“I’m satisfied. That’s what I said. I wasn’t satisfied with the last one and I wanted to be satisfied tonight, and I got to do that.”
It improved his record to 19-1 in the process as he remains undefeated in the UFC while he also extended the record for most consecutive wins at welterweight with 14.
An argument can certainly be made that he has surpassed Georges St-Pierre as the greatest welterweight of all time. As far as pound-for-pound status is concerned? Usman wants to see himself at the top when the rankings are updated on Monday.
“I have big, big goals for myself, and I want to see it on Monday,” Usman added. “Pound-for-pound, I’m the best fighter on the planet, and I just want to see that on Monday.
“I take it a fight at a time. If people want to consider me the best, then they can. But as of right now, I do believe that pound-for-pound I am the best fighter on the planet.”
Do you agree with Usman?