As far as Kamaru Usman’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, is concerned, if the words “greatest welterweight of all time” are uttered, it had better be in reference to the sitting UFC welterweight champion.
At this point, most debates regarding the greatest welterweight of all time will likely center around two men, Georges St-Pierre and Kamaru Usman. Odds are, more people involved in such debates will designate St-Pierre as the rightful owner of this title. But in an appearance on the HotBoxin’ With Mike Tyson podcast, Ali Abdelaziz explained why any argument for GSP as the welterweight GOAT is invalid.
“If you’re gonna compare who’s the greatest welterweight of all the time now, you cannot say Georges St-Pierre because Georges St-Pierre been in a split decision, been in close fights. Kamaru Usman is killing everybody,” Abdelaziz said.
“He’s been knocked out; he’s been submitted. Kamaru’s not been touched. In a way, Kamaru has not been there, but he has more (wins) in the welterweight division than Georges.”
There are some factual inaccuracies in Abdelaziz’s argument, however. Firstly, Kamaru Usman has also been submitted. Usman’s first and only loss in the sport literally came by way of submission in his second professional fight against Jose Caceres.
Second, Kamaru Usman does not have more welterweight wins than Georges St-Pierre, neither in the UFC nor in his career. Usman has 14 wins at welterweight in the UFC, 19 in his career. St-Pierre has 19 welterweight wins in the UFC, 24 in his career.
It’s likely that Abdelaziz’s meant to say that Usman has more consecutive wins in the welterweight division than St-Pierre, which is true, and that the “not been touched” remark was referring solely to the UFC, which is to say that Usman has never been knocked out, submitted, or defeated in the UFC while St-Pierre has.
One way to strengthen the argument in either direction would be if the two were to fight. This is something that both Usman and Abdelaziz have suggested, but St-Pierre has never expressed any interest in fighting Usman but has only discussed returning against Khabib Nurmagomedov. Neither fight has ever gained any real traction, leaving fans to continue debating how GSP would fare against either of them.
Who do you think is the greatest welterweight of all time?