Kamaru Usman Sunday morning defeated Gilbert Burns to retain his crown as the undisputed welterweight champion at UFC 258.
The bout was expected to last the duration but Usman’s superior power saw him kick out Burns in the third round, leaving his ormer training partner and friend in tears and with at least a cut below the eye.
“This was a very, very tough one because of the whole gym situation,” Usman said. “You cannot disrespect what Burns has done. We started together and he showed it tonight.”
The fight did not start all too well for Usman as Burns piled on the pressure early. But the Nigerian Nightmare regained his composure and took control, delivering some heavy strikes that pushed his opponent to the brink.
With the knock out of Burns, Usman has now won 17 straight fights, including 13 in the UFC, eclipsing St-Pierre’s record winning streak in the welterweight division.
The victory also handed him a tie with Khabib Nurmagomedov for most consecutive wins to start his UFC career, behind only Anderson Silva, who has 16 straight wins.
Usman has now defended his title three times. The last time out, he went against Jorge Masvidal, who was drafted in after Burns pulled out of their schedule fight late after testing positive for coronavirus.
