Reigning UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman named his UFC Mount Rushmore. Surprisingly, Usman didn’t include his friend Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The UFC has been established since 1993 and has had a lot of spectacular athletes. Greatest of all time lists can be individual and they’re constantly being updated. As such they’re a hot topic especially considering Dana White’s interesting list from last week.
Recently, welterweight champion Kamaru Usman attended an interview with Brett Okamoto at ESPN MMA. He was asked which athletes deserve to be carved into the UFC Mount Rushmore. The longtime pound-for-pound king put a disclaimer that his answer are just his own opinion and anyone is allowed to disagree.
“In this sport, I think, uh… This is based on preferences. Different guys have different preferences. I think skill-wise and technique-wise… what these guys were able to show… I think Anderson Silva, Jon Jones… What these guys were able to bring… Uh, Georges St-Pierre. I would even say Dominick Cruz.
Usman chose the former two-time UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz over the likes of Amanda Nunes, Daniel Cormier, Jose Aldo, or Demitrious Johnson. Usman also didn’t mention his friend Khabib Nurmagomedov who is regarded as one of the UFC GOATs by many fans.
Kamaru Usman is set to take on number 2 contender Leon Edwards for his 6th title defense. Usman and Edwards will headline UFC 278 this weekend. The pair shared an octagon before at UFC on Fox in 2015 where Edwards lost via decision. Since then, Edwards has been climbing the ranks and is currently on a 10 win streak.