Kamaru Usman has pulled out the names to his UFC welterweight Mount Rushmore.
“Greatest of all time” debates never seem to get old or dull, even if there is no chance there will ever be full agreement on them. The early seedlings of the debate between who is the welterweight GOAT between Georges St-Pierre and Kamaru Usman are beginning to form, although it’s currently fair to say that St-Pierre is still widely considered to be the consensus GOAT in the division. But as much as St-Pierre accomplished as champion, there will never be full agreement, and the more Usman wins, the more those disagreements will widen and the countering arguments strengthen.
While singling out one GOAT for an entire sport or even one division can often be a trying task, at least with the Mount Rushmore arrangement, you’re granted up to four spots, which leaves more room for agreement. Even though Usman has chosen to remain silent on whom he considers the single welterweight GOAT, when put on the spot in a recent ESPN interview on who would be on his welterweight Mount Rushmore, the current champion decided to give his answer after careful consideration.
“Of course, you have to put GSP there,” Usman began. “I hate to do it, but I would have to put myself in that conversation because I think I’m probably one of the most if not the most well-rounded one out of everyone. That’s just because this sport has evolved so much.
“I think I’ll throw Pat Miletich in there as well. Pat was a savage. I mean, a lot of people don’t realize that because it was a while ago and Pat’s a commentator now. But Pat was a savage. I liked the way he approached the game. And I mean, you gotta put Matt Hughes in there as well. If you’re gonna give me four, just four, I would put those guys in there.”
Georges St-Pierre is easily the winningest welterweight champion in UFC history. In fact, many people believe he is the GOAT of the entire sport regardless of division. Pat Miletich is truly a pioneer of the sport and was the first-ever UFC welterweight champion. Overall, Miletich was the champion from 1998-2001 and had a total of four successful title defenses. Matt Hughes is widely considered to be the original welterweight GOAT. He is a two-time UFC welterweight champion and has a total of six title defenses on his résumé. He also has a whopping total of 54 wins on his professional record, one of which being over St-Pierre himself (and vice versa).
As for Kamaru Usman, well, his body of work is still very much under construction, and he continues to enhance it with every victory of his flawless UFC career. If you need another reminder of who he is, you can tune in to UFC 261 tomorrow night to see if he can remain the only man on this list to be unbeaten in the UFC when he takes on Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal in the main event.
What do you think of Kamaru Usman’s list? Did he get it right? Were there any noticeable snubs?
