UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman (L2) has his hand raised by referee Herb Dean (R2) following his third round TKO victory over No. 1 contender Gilbert Burns (R1) at UFC 258 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., February 13, 2021. /Zuffa
Going into UFC 258, two things were clear. First is that Kamaru Usman is, by far, the most dominant fighter and champion the UFC welterweight division has seen since the retirement of all-time legend Georges St-Pierre. His MMA record of 17-1 and UFC record of 12-0 was built by powerful collegiate wrestling skills and backed up by boxing fundamentals delivered with the force of a freight train.
The second is that nobody cares about him or his division. Perception is reality and the perception of Usman is that he's incredibly boring. Outside the cage, rivals and teammates such as Ben Askren and Colby Covington have spoken about him being a "fake" and "inauthentic."
Inside the cage, his performances lack killer instinct. Nine of his UFC victories came by decision, none of them particularly exciting. Usman is strong and technical and is all about smothering and maintaining top position rather than working towards submissions or creating damage.
The apotheosis of this was at the aforementioned UFC 251 on July 12 when he faced Jorge Masvidal. Usman was supposed to face his opponent from this evening, Gilbert Burns, but Burns tested positive for COVID-19 and so was replaced on six-day notice by Masvidal.
Gilbert Burns (L) hits Kamaru Usman with a left punch during the welterweight title main event of UFC 258 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., February 13, 2021. /Zuffa
Usman easily defended his belt with 25 grueling minutes of wrestling – and yet Masvidal came out of it with the shine. He stepped up at the last minute and went five rounds with the champ without a scratch on him. In the build up to the main event of UFC 258, it was clear this annoyed him and he came into the Burns fight palpably looking to make a statement.
Burns was the #1 welterweight and had a record of 19-3, 12-4 in the UFC. Along the way, he racked up a fairly equal split of wins by knockout, submission and decision meaning he's a threat in all positions. Perhaps more importantly, he was a former training partner of Usman and felt he knew things about the champion that others didn't.
In the first round that may have been true. Burns came out with a head of steam and cracked Usman with a hard shot. If anything was learned from the opening exchange, it's that Usman's fighting style is as defensive as it is offensive; he doesn't like getting hit. When tagged, he freezes and for a split second loses his composure.
Kamaru Usman (L) finishes Gilbert Burns with punches on the ground at the end of the welterweight title main event of UFC 258 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., February 13, 2021. /Zuffa
Burns, however, also lost his composure and instead of capitalize, began swinging for the fences, whiffing most of the shots and ultimately giving Usman too much time to recover. Worse, a badly judged head kick got caught and Usman dropped Burns on his back with four minutes remaining in the round. When Usman didn't follow Burns into his guard, he looked confused and spent the next two minutes absorbing kicks while Usman returned to full strength.
Back on their feet, Burns applied pressure and had the advantage in the striking in the final stages of the first round. Again, he was simply too wild to do anything with it.
The tide began to turn the champions way from the start of Round 2. He waited out Gilbert's striking, well aware the challenger lacked the fight IQ to really do anything with it and responded with quick stinging jabs. They were just enough to keep Burns guessing.
With 2:45 remaining, Usman switched it up. Instead of catching Burns with an exit jab, he rocked him with a right straight. Burns staggered back to the cage, visibly hurt and Usman put it on him from there.
Burns lasted until the end of the round, only because Usman let him. Unlike the opening frame when Burns went hell for leather and came up with naught, Usman took his time, picked his shots and slowly but surely chipped away at Burns. Each punch did damage, not just physically, mentally too.
Burns looked terrified and, as the second round progressed, it seeped into his body language too. No longer was he defending Usman's punches, he was surviving.
The blood was in the water. Round 3 started with Usman switching stances, flattening Burns with a right jab and then demolishing him with ground and pound in 34 seconds.
For Burns, the emotions – the wildness to begin, the fear to finish – were too much. He started weeping while Usman paced around the cage waiting to be crowned as the winner. Usman needed a statement victory, a story-line win, and at UFC 258 he finally got it.