He may not be the most popular champion in the UFC but, make no mistake, Kamaru Usman is one of the most dominant athletes in the promotion right now.
Usman’s finish of Gilbert Burns at UFC 258 saw his stock rise to a new level after he registered his 17th consecutive win and his 13th in the UFC. He also notched his third straight title defense to give him wins over each of the 170-pound division’s top four contenders.
Thanks to Usman’s dominance at the top of the division, there’s a dearth of viable contenders at the top of the 170-pound rankings, with Usman rapidly approaching the territory previously occupied by the likes of Georges St-Pierre and Demetrious Johnson as champions who had virtually cleaned out their division.
But Usman took matters into his own hands during his post-fight interview when he stared down the barrel of the camera and issued his challenge to former foe Jorge Masvidal, who stepped up to face him on just six days’ notice in a losing effort at UFC 251.
Masvidal insists things will be very different in a rematch, and Usman’s response, directly challenging “Gamebred” to a second bout, has done all of the groundwork needed to not just tee up his next title defense, but to produce a matchup that should prove a hit at the box office.
After headlining an event with very little big-name support on the undercard, Usman deserves a big stage, and a big fight card, for his next outing. By calling out Masvidal he’s gone a long way to ensuring his next bout is a big one, too.
Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/ufc-kamaru-usman-khabib-nurmagomedov-conor-mcgregor-dustin-poirier-top-power-index-feb-8-14