If anyone knows how it feels at the top of the welterweight division, it’s former champ Georges St-Pierre. GSP once boasted the most consecutive wins in the division, with thirteen, until Kamaru Usman came along and extended his own streak to fifteen. Despite clinching this record, “Rush” knows that Usman is beatable, even if he looks unstoppable at 170 pounds.
“I believe there’s a lot of guys that can beat Usman. I do believe personally Usman is the best right now in the division but that doesn’t mean he is invincible. He needs to always stay on top of the game. It’s hard to be champion and it’s even harder to stay champion. I’m sure if you ask Usman, he’ll tell you the same thing.
GSP: “there’s a lot of guys that can beat Usman”
He’s on a tear right now, he looks phenomenal but there’s a lot of guys that can give him a lot of trouble. Like Khamzat Chimaev. Leon Edwards, maybe.
Usman so far has been a puzzle that no one is able to solve. He’s incredible but he needs to stay focused to make sure he never underestimates nobody and trains for every fight like it’s the hardest fight he’s ever had.”
Georges St-Pierre retired in 2019, twelve years after his last loss. Back in 2007, Matt Serra solved the GSP puzzle, knocking the champ out in the first round of their fight and claiming the title. A year later, St-Pierre reclaimed the welterweight belt with a TKO win of his own in the second round, and never lost a fight again. In his final appearance, Georges St-Pierre defeated Michael Bisping to claim the UFC middleweight title, retiring and vacating said title shortly afterward.
That early adversity led St-Pierre to understand the pitfalls of feeling invincible. Being better than your opponent on paper doesn’t always guarantee a victory. Kamaru Usman dispatched Colby Covington for a second time recently, taking out arguably his toughest challenger so far.
There’s plenty of welterweight talent waiting in the wings, with the likes of Leon Edwards, Vicente Luque, Belal Muhammad, and, of course, Khamzat Chimaev all chomping at the bit for their chance at UFC gold. “Nobody’s invincible, everybody can be beat.
It’s not the best fighter that wins the fight very often. It’s the question about the fighter that fights the best the night of the fight and there’s a lot of things that can influence the result of a fight.” Do you agree with GSP? Let us know in the comments.
