Kamaru Usman shares why he never claims that he is the best. The Welterweight champion will headline UFC 258 alongside Gilbert Burns.
In the current UFC scenario, Kamaru Usman is one of the most dominant fighters. The Welterweight champion has won all of his matches (12) quite comprehensively and when it comes to the Pound-For-Pound rankings the Nigerian Nightmare is a frequent feature in the Top 5.
While he carries the credentials of a fighter of the finest kind, but when it comes to placing himself in the list of among the greats, Usman is not as expressive as some of the other fighters are.
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Kamaru Usman on why he never claims to be the best
In an interview with MMA fighting, Usman was indirectly asked where does he rate himself in the GOAT debate, to which he said he isn’t concerned with any competition, and the only thing he wants to do is his job.
“Honestly, I don’t look at that. I don’t think about that,” Usman said. “I don’t think about stuff like that, I remember when Tyron Woodley was saying those things, he’s the greatest welterweight of all time and this and that. Of course, he’s in that conversation but that’s not something you bestow upon yourself. That’s not something I want to think about and say I’m this, I’m that.
“No, I go out there and I do my job. I take it one fight at a time and then when I am done over time people look at your body of work and say ‘wow, look what he did, look who he got through, he fought everyone and he made them look like this and he fought them and did them this way.’ I’m not the one who’s going to go out there and put that label on myself but if you actually look at my resume and when I’m said and done and you’re like ‘he 50-43’d this guy, 50-44’d this guy, he did this to that guy, man, that’s the greatest of all time.’”
‘I’ll let people make that conclusion’
Usman, who at UFC 258 will enter the Octagon to defend his title for the time, implies that thinking oneself in the light of the greatest has its repercussions, and exemplified his stance by shedding light on what happened with former Welterweight champion Tyron Woodley.
“I felt that with that Tyron Woodley situation,” Usman explained. “I felt like towards the end, he put so much pressure on himself as that, as ‘I’m the greatest welterweight of all time, I’m this and that’ to where it’s almost like I’m sitting here, I know something you don’t know, I know that I’m better and you’re sitting here and you’re worry is that you’re the greatest welterweight of all time? It is what it is. But you’re going to take an ‘L’ on this one.
“It’s not one of those things that I’m putting by the wayside or not paying attention to. I am paying attention to it. I’m making sure that each and every fight, I’m fully aware of what’s in front of me.”
Though, he is reluctant to judge his trajectory among the greats but, at the same time, Kamaru Usman makes it known that he is open to the opinion of the people.
“I’ll let people make that conclusion,” Usman said. “That’s not something I bestow upon myself. That’s not something I’m worried about right now.
“Right now, I’m just worried about who is the next guy in front of me and just going out there and making sure that I get that win.”
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