Dana White: Kamaru Usman ‘On His Way to Being Greatest of All Time’

It took a few years to get there, but Kamaru Usman is receiving his due recognition from Dana White.

The UFC president praised Usman following the welterweight champion’s latest triumph, a second-round knockout of Jorge Masvidal in the UFC 261 main event at Vystar Veteran’s Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday night. It was Usman’s 14th consecutive win within the Las Vegas-based promotion, a streak that puts him ahead of such stars as Georges St. Pierre, Jon Jones, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Demetrious Johnson. Only former middleweight king Anderson Silva (16) has a longer winning streak in UFC history.

“No matter how you feel, the guy is getting booed in there tonight, (but) he’s one of the best ever,” White said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “He’s on his way to probably being the greatest of all time. I mean, the guy is an absolute stud. He looks better every time he comes out.”

That praise is a far cry from White’s reaction to Usman three years ago, when “The Nigerian Nightmare” was only halfway into his current winning streak. His seventh consecutive victory came via unanimous decision against Emil Meek at UFC Fight Night 124, and he drew the ire of White when in his post-fight interview he claimed that fought “sitting at about 30 percent.” In Usman’s defense, he was referring to his level of health, not effort, but the comments were misconstrued long before he could clarify.

Also not helping Usman’s reputation was his penchant for going the distance. In his first nine UFC appearances, Usman won via decision on eight occasions – including his coronation against Tyron Woodley at UFC 235. Since becoming champion, Usman has won three of his four title defenses by knockout or technical knockout.

“These people talk about him being boring,” White said. “You’re an idiot. You’re an idiot if you think this guy is boring. He hasn’t been in a boring fight in a while. He changed after he gave that whole, ‘I only gave 30 percent tonight thing.’ He’s been a different human being ever since the (Rafael dos Anjos) fight.”

White reiterated that a rematch with Colby Covington is likely next for Usman. Their first meeting took place at UFC 245 in December 2019, with Usman winning via fifth-round technical knockout. According to White, winning rematches against the likes of Masvidal and Covington will only serve to further secure Usman’s legacy.

“It's the fight to make. He’s the No. 1 guy in the world,” White said. “For him, to really cement your legacy, when you win and you beat the guys who are looked at as the best in the world at that time and you beat them twice and you beat them convincingly, it’s all just part of cementing that legacy that this guy is gonna end up having some day.”