As soon as Gilbert Burns rocked Kamaru Usman seconds into their UFC 258 main event, I thought to myself, “We jinxed Usman.” Why? Well, the last time we had the greatest welterweight of all-time conversation about someone not named Georges St-Pierre or Matt Hughes, it was before Tyron Woodley fought Usman in March 2019. Woodley lost that night, kicking off a three-fight losing streak. Fast forward nearly two years, and the pre-fight banter touched on Usman breaking GSP’s record for most consecutive welterweight victories and where he stood among the best ever. Then Burns staggered him, but Usman shook it off and then put on a dominant effort until he halted his former teammate in the third round. Best 170-pounder ever? Me, personally, I don’t like those conversations until a fighter retires, but if we’re going to have that talk, Usman’s name has to be there.
