Kamaru Usman wants people to put some respect on his name.
In the main event of UFC 258, Usman defended his belt for the third time as he TKO’d Gilbert Burns in the third-round. It was a very impressive performance from the champ, and he wants people to start giving him the respect he deserves.
“Everyone. Critics, the media, all of them,” Usman said after UFC 258 (via MMAJunkie). “Not that I really give a (expletive), but I give a (expletive). I’m an artist and I’m sensitive about my (expletive). So put some respect on my name.”
Although Kamaru Usman appears to be a dominant champion, he is still not ranked in the top-three of the pound-for-pound list. For Usman, that shows the lack of respect people have for him and believes that it is just a popularity contest.
“That pound-for-pound list is not a popularity contest, you know? I haven’t really lost rounds in here – I control what goes on inside the cage,” Usman said. “Just because I’m not the loudest guy in the room, I’m not the most braggadocious, I don’t get in trouble outside (the cage), I’m not in headlines all the time. Let’s be honest, they kind of disrespect me in a sense. That pound-for-pound list is not a popularity contest. I need to move up on that list.”
If Kamaru Usman keeps on winning and defending his belt fans and media alike will have no question to start talking about how good he is. He passed Georges St-Pierre for the most consecutive wins at welterweight and is well on his way to becoming the GOAT, which even Dana White said after UFC 258.
“He just broke his record tonight,” White said at the UFC 258 post-fight press conference. “If you look at what he just did, he broke his record tonight for consecutive wins (in the welterweight division), and if this guy keeps rolling, if Usman can keep doing what he’s doing, he’s going to go down as the greatest welterweight ever. Fact.
“Just look at who he’s fought and who he has to fight here in the future, it’s undeniable that this guy will go down as the best welterweight,” White continued. “The question is, where will he go down in the history of the sport?”
