Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns were full of emotion as they hugged each other in the center of the Octagon. Burns had blood and tears running down his cheeks. Some of their cornerms behind them fought back from crying.
Usman stopped Burns, his former teammate, via TKO at 34 seconds from the third round to defend his UFC welterweight title in the UFC 258 main event in Las Vegas.
Usman landed with a right hand as he switched positions to Burns on the floor, then punched Burns to the ground until Referee Herb Dean pulled him off.
“Gilbert is a guy I have known from the start,” Usman said in his interview after the fight. ‘I love him. I found this one difficult to deal with. ‘
With the win, Usman took his 13th straight win, surpassing legend Georges St-Pierre for the most consecutive wins in UFC welterweight history.
Usman and Burns have been teammates in South Florida since 2012, first with the Blackzilians and most recently with Sanford MMA. Usman left for Colorado last year to train under coach Trevor Wittman, after the first fight with Burns was scheduled for July. But Burns tested positive for COVID-19 and withdrew from that fight. Henri Hooft, the longtime head coach of both Usman and Burns, didn’t put either man in a corner, saying he wouldn’t even watch the fight.
“Guys, you can’t discredit what Gilbert Burns has done in this division,” Usman said. ‘We started together. We started this journey together, and he showed it tonight. He went in and put it all together. ‘
The fight had major consequences outside of the personal story. When ESPN came in, Usman had ranked number 5 in the world in his MMA pound for pound rankings. In the welterweight division, ESPN has placed Usman at number 1 and Burns at number 5.
Burns rocked Usman twice early with huge right hands. But Usman stayed in a tumultuous first round. He then took over in the second, taking a beautiful shot and suppressing Burns’ strength and explosiveness. Usman’s blow looked better than ever as he shifted his stance and landed with force from everyone.
In the second round, Usman dropped Burns twice, the second time with a jab. In the third, it was a right hand resembling a jab that put Burns on the butt before Usman jumped and landed on the ground.
Usman defeated Burns 83-45 in significant strikes, according to UFC statistics.
“I’m the best on the planet for a reason,” Usman said in his interview after the fight. “All of you, everyone else, you’d better put a little respect on my name … I’m here to stay.”
UFC 258 was held with COVID-19 protocols at the UFC Apex, a facility across from UFC’s Las Vegas corporate campus. It was the first domestic pay-per-view card of the year for the promotion.
Usman (18-1) has been champion since defeating Tyron Woodley at UFC 235 in March 2019. He has three successful title defenses. The Nigerian, who grew up in Texas, has never lost in the UFC.
Usman, 33, won a unanimous decision over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 251 last July. Afterwards, Usman called out Masvidal, who took the fight six days in advance. Usman said “it’s not done yet” with Masvidal.
“He keeps running through his mouth,” Usman said. “If he wants to talk, come over to me.”
Burns (19-4) had won six times in a row, the most recent victory over Woodley last May by unanimous decision. The Brazilian resident is 4-1 since moving from lightweight to welterweight in 2019.
Burns, 34, is a multiple Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion with power in his hands. He sought to become the first Brazilian to win the UFC welterweight title.
“I’m the varsity guy,” Usman said. “My fighting IQ is different. It’s different when you’re in the gym with me. But when you come in here it’s a different ball game. I’m a completely different savage.”