Kamaru ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ Usman blasted away challenger Gilbert Burns on Saturday and extended his seemingly impregnable reign at the top of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight division with a third-round knockout at UFC 258 in Las Vegas.
The bout started with the Brazilian Burns rushing the champion in the center of the cage, landing a huge right to the temple with a minute gone that left Usman wobbling.
But Usman dusted himself off, his rapier-like left jab found its mark, and the champion found his range with some massive rights of his own before the TKO was called with 34 seconds of the third round gone. It was a straight right that put Burns on his back then, and Usman rained down the blows before referee Herb Dean made the call.
“This is my cage,” Usman said afterwards. “I am the undisputed welterweight champion for a reason. I am the best on the planet for a reason. I am here to stay.”
“He caught me in the first round,” Usman added. “I thought: ‘Let’s go to work now’.”
He has won all 13 of his UFC fights and surpassed Georges St-Pierre for the longest winning streak at welterweight.
The two rivals were formerly team-mates at Florida gym Sanford MMA before Usman left to join Elevation Fight Team in Colorado.
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