Would GSP come back to fight Kamaru Usman?
Kamaru Usman vs Georges St-Pierre on the cards?
The thing about becoming a legend that everyone searches for is insane respect. With that respect, with that target, you become the hunted. By everyone.
Georges St-Pierre is arguably the greatest welterweight champion in MMA history. Not just in the UFC. So there should be no shock when he continues to be called out, even just under 3 years since he "retired" for good.
Tyron Woodley wanted him. Khabib Nurmagomedov and his father spoke about their legacy not being complete until that fight happened. Conor McGregor talked about him as well. Anderson Silva said it's time for that dream match happen. And the list goes on and on.
But now with a new king sitting on the 170-pound throne you knew it would just be a matter of time, not if, the call out would come. Well, it happened. While speaking with TMZ Sports, Kamaru Usman openly campaigned for the fight with the UFC Hall Of Famer.
Kamaru Usman hunting for a fight against GSP
While he's willing to take on any and all challengers like teammate Gilbert Burns, or Leon Edwards, it's GSP that gets him smiling. Without taking anything away from him, Usman feels he's the next generation hybrid fighter, and just a tad better everywhere.
Whether that's true or not is debatable. What is not is although "many" fans were unhappy with the way the Jorge Masvidal fight played out, his in-cage IQ improved. He went from a great coach in Henri Hooft to one even more technical in Trevor Wittman. And that's a fact that must now be part of his equation.
Although the 39-year-old Pierre having Freddie Roach and Firas Zahabi in his corner is better than a royal flush. Most thought GSP wouldn't be able to withstand Michael Bisping at 185. Outside of GSP's body not reacting great to the move up he more than handled it. That last fight ended his career on a 13-fight win streak. Including avenging his only 2 losses, to Matt Serra and Matt Hughes.
Dana White has been hesitant to put him back in the cage because after winning that middleweight belt, he relinquished it. Hence the sticking point versus Khabib, and everyone else. And the likelihood that if he beat Usman (which is incredibly possible); he'd give up the belt yet again.
GSP recently posted Instagram images of himself working out and looking better than he ever has. Perhaps not for the Usman fight, but in fact for the one-off with Silva. This way everyone makes their money, and no titles have to then be forfeited.
Boring, exciting, it doesn't matter what you call his wrestling/grappling style. It's a winning formula. Let's not forget he can bang when needed. If an opponent wants to grab that belt from Kamaru Usman, he's going to have to figure out how to put a round peg in a square hole. Usman's on one of those roles right now where he looks like a world-beater with 16 straight wins.