Kamaru Usman is on a roll. Undefeated since 2013, with 17 straight wins behind him and the UFC welterweight belt successfully defended against former interim champ Colby Covington, what’s next for the man who has already defeated five of the top six contenders in the UFC rankings?
Jorge Masvidal is the last holdout, and an obvious matchup for the Nigerian Nightmare this year. Masvidal is coming off a monster 2019 and the pair are sure to put on a barn-burner, but Usman has another fighter in mind for his dream matchup.
“2020, the only thing that makes sense, I’m right there about to break the record for most consecutive wins [at welterweight] and I’m the champion. The guy that holds the record, the guy that’s just above me, is Georges St-Pierre. It’s only right that I break that record on Georges St-Pierre.”
GSP racked up 12 consecutive wins in the welterweight division, and is the longest reigning welterweight champion in UFC history. His run came to an end in 2013, vacating his title to take a four-year sabbatical from the sport. In 2017 he briefly returned, defeated then-middleweight champ Michael Bisping and took that belt, before surrendering that title. Although he officially retired on February 21, 2019, he’s left the door open for the right opportunity to return.
Chael Sonnen thinks the time is right for GSP to make a comeback, and points to the clues he drops on social media that he’s considering a return.
“As we come to the new year, I am very confident we’re going to see Georges St-Pierre in 2020. The only question is, where are we going to see him? We know he’s in the gym. We’ve seen the pictures. His coach has come out and talked about it. We know all of these things.
“There just seems like a lot of spots where the great St-Pierre could fill in, and he happened to shut his mouth right as all those pieces are coming together.”
For Usman, it would be a perfect matchup. “Georges St-Pierre has the record, I’m coming for the record and in order for me to break the record, I fight him for the record. I can’t think of a better way to get that record than to fight somebody like Georges.”
