Dana White Names UFC Star Who Can Achieve 'GOAT Status,' Fans Feel He Is Disrespecting GSP With Huge Claim

UFC president Dana White has claimed that Kamaru Usman is “on his way to possible GOAT status” after his victory at UFC 268 on Saturday.

Usman successfully defended the welterweight championship for the fifth time in his hotly anticipated rematch with Colby Covington.

The 34-year-old UFC star, who stopped Covington at UFC 245 in 2019, picked up a unanimous decision victory over his fierce rival at Madison Square Garden.

Usman extended his professional MMA record to 20-1, but White made a bold claim that he is the “best welterweight of all time” ahead of Georges St-Pierre.

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Speaking at his UFC 268 post-fight press conference, the UFC chief said: “This guy is the best ever. He's the best welterweight of all time. He is on his way to possible GOAT status.”

GSP, who is widely regarded as one of the best MMA fighters of all time, holds more consecutive welterweight title defences than Usman.

The 40-year-old Canadian superstar captured his second UFC welterweight title against Matt Serra at UFC 83 in 2008.

St-Pierre went on to defend the title nine consecutive times -- four more than Usman -- during his second reign before he vacated the championship in 2013.

MMA fans flocked to Twitter and slammed White for suggesting that Usman had surpassed GSP as the best welterweight of all time, with one user calling the UFC president “very bitter.”

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White admitted that it was “very impressive” to see the quality of opponents who Usman has been facing and admired how he is “fighting everybody.”

He told reporters: “I’m telling you this guy is very special, he’s damn good.

“I think he’s the greatest welterweight ever. He’s obviously the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world right now. He’s one of the guys that we can already start arguing soon about GOAT status.

“And he’s fighting everybody. It’s not like he’s only fought this guy, he didn’t fight -- he’s fought everybody. He’s starting to come back the second time around now and beat guys.

“[…] And look at the competition he’s facing. It’s all really bad dudes. It’s very impressive.”

Featured Image Credit: MMA Junkie/PA

Topics: Dana White, Kamaru Usman, UFC, MMA

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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