Kamaru Usman has offered a different perspective on the ongoing debate over who deserves to be called the greatest mixed martial artist of all time, arguing that fighters should instead be judged by the era in which they competed.
Speaking on this week's episode of his Pound4Pound podcast, the former UFC welterweight champion explained why he does not believe there can be one definitive greatest fighter in MMA history, pointing to the evolution of the sport and the different skill sets developed by each generation.
“I don't really like to even get into that conversation of the greatest of all time, greatest of all time. There's no greatest of all time. It's greatest of your time. That's what that is. Greatest of your time, not greatest of all time, because there are different skill sets,” Usman said.
The Nigerian-born fighter highlighted how much mixed martial arts has evolved over the years, noting that today's athletes are developing techniques and combinations that were rarely seen in previous generations.
“This generation is good at one skill, this generation is good at two skills, this generation is good at mixing it up. Now you got little ninjas that are 15, 16, 17 years old doing spinning triple back kicks, whatever, flips and all of this stuff,” he explained.
“You know, like for the longest time, you didn't kick and punch at the same side. Now people are doing that at will, like it's nothing. And doing double spinning backfists? When was the last time you've seen that?”
According to Usman, the constant evolution of the sport makes it difficult to compare fighters across different eras, as every generation presents its own challenges and technical developments.
“And I only say that to say, each generation, each time, there's a different champion. There's a different guy that masters their time, and he becomes the greatest of THAT time,” he added.
Usman also discussed his admiration for former UFC two-division champion Georges St-Pierre, widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in MMA history. While acknowledging St-Pierre's accomplishments, the former welterweight champion believes he was capable of defeating him during his own competitive prime.
“I am a humongous fan of Georges St-Pierre, and I think Georges St-Pierre is great. I think in his time he was the greatest. And me being the competitor that I am, that I was, I think in my time I was good enough to beat him,” Usman said.
However, he was careful to acknowledge that his belief was a matter of personal opinion rather than an established fact.
“But that is my opinion, that's not saying that's exactly what would have happened. I'm sure he felt because he was a dog, he felt he could have definitely beat everybody. So this whole conversation of the greatest of all time, I think that is crazy.”
Usman also brought up former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo as an example of a fighter who dominated his generation. Aldo enjoyed an extraordinary run at the top of the division, defending his championship against a succession of challengers before eventually losing to Conor McGregor in December 2015.
“Jose Aldo was a champion for so long. He had went through so many people. He was just chilling all year until they found a new contender for him, and he would jump in and whoop them,” Usman said.
“Jose Aldo was a champion from 2009 all the way to when? 2015 when he lost to Conor McGregor. Six, almost six years he was a champion. Six years!”
