Former UFC welterweight king Georges St-Pierre believes he would have beaten current 170-pound champion Kamaru Usman inside the Octagon.
The retired UFC Hall of Famer, who won the middleweight title in his last appearance, recently spoke with MMA News’ James Lynch. During their conversation, “GSP” divulged that he would have implemented a wrestling-heavy gameplan against Usman should they have competed back when St-Pierre was an active fighter.
“The Nigerian Nightmare” is known for implementing a strong wrestling game, but GSP pointed out the difference between his wrestling and Usman’s.
“Usman has a style that he is very good at chain wrestling,” GSP said via the outlet. “He’s very good when he puts his opponent against the fence. He can do it all. He’s very well rounded. His main speciality in wrestling, he’s very good at putting his opponent against the fence and working from there.
“My style, I was more a guy that moves, moves, hit and run, so to speak. That was my game. So, my game would have been to put him down, but with feints and proactive and reactive takedowns.
“I would have, if I would have fought him, tried to put him on his back because I’ve never seen him there. That would have been my strategy.”
St-Pierre Thinks Usman’s Bottom Game Could Be a ‘Weak Link’
St-Pierre suspects that Usman’s defensive wrestling could be lacking. Fight fans haven’t seen The Nigerian Nightmare work from his back, and that’s something GSP would strive to make him do.
“Where someones seems stronger than everybody, that is the place where you need to attack,” GSP continued. “Sometimes their strength gets transformed to a weak link. You never know how he fights on his back. Nobody has ever exposed him there. There’s guys that are very good wrestlers, but once they’re on their back, they’ve never been there, so you don’t know how they will react.
“Would I succeed or not? We’ll never know [LAUGHS]… I think so, because I’m a fighter and I’m kind of biased. There is nobody that I have fought that I wasn’t able to put down. But it’s a different era, a different time, guys get better. Usman is just fantastic. He’s the best right now.”
GSP (26-2) hasn’t competed since his title-winning effort against then-middleweight champion Michael Bisping at UFC 217. At 40 years old, the fighter has remained in phenomenal shape, however he’s comfortably retired from MMA.
Khamzat Chimaev, Leon Edwards Could Beat Uman, GSP Said
St-Pierre doesn’t just think he’s the only fighter who could beat Usman. Although the Canadian views The Nigerian Nightmare as “incredible,” he sees the likes of Khamzat Chimaev and Leon Edwards possibility dethroning the champion.
“I believe there’s a lot of guys that can beat Usman,” St-Pierre said to Lynch via MMA Fighting. “I do believe personally Usman is the best right now in the division but that doesn’t mean he is invincible. He needs to always stay on top of the game. It’s hard to be champion and it’s even harder to stay champion. I’m sure if you ask Usman, he’ll tell you the same thing.
“He’s on a tear right now, he looks phenomenal but there’s a lot of guys that can give him a lot of trouble like Khamzat Chimaev. Leon Edwards, maybe. Usman so far has been a puzzle that no one is able to solve. He’s incredible but he needs to stay focused to make sure he never underestimates nobody and trains for every fight like it’s the hardest fight he’s ever had.”
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UFC Legend Georges St-Pierre Explains How He Would Have Beaten Kamaru Usman