UFC star Conor McGregor has laughed off the idea that Kamaru Usman is the pound-for-pound number one fighter in the promotion.
While the official rankings may not mean a whole lot to some, the pride of being called the best of the best is something a lot of athletes strive for.
At this moment in time, as per the official UFC website, Kamaru Usman has been given the #1 spot in the men’s P4P rankings. The top five is finished off by his fellow champions Israel Adesanya, Alexander Volkanovski, Francis Ngannou and Charles Oliveira.
They’re all high quality fighters in their own right but the complete and utter domination shown by ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ since he won the welterweight title puts him head and shoulders above the rest.
His title triumph over Tyron Woodley was followed up by five successful title defences against Colby Covington (x2), Jorge Masvidal (x2) and Gilbert Burns.
Of course, one man who knows a thing or two about making history in mixed martial arts is Conor McGregor.
Despite it being more than five years since that famous night at UFC 205 when he became the ‘champ champ’, McGregor is still a larger than life figure in the UFC.
He wants to cash in on as many big money fights as he possibly can and as you can see by his reaction to the UFC’s following Instagram post, he’s doubling down on his pursuit of the 170-pound king.
Via: @UFC on Instagram
Will we see Kamaru Usman vs Conor McGregor?
McGregor has made it clear that he wants to become a three-weight UFC champion and if he’s going to pull it off, he’ll have to go through Kamaru Usman.
Sure, the 34-year-old is talking about boxing Canelo Alvarez later in the year, but Usman has a more immediate threat to face in the UFC this summer.
He’ll be locking horns with Leon Edwards, likely during International Fight Week, with the popular opinion being that a win would move him even closer to overtaking Georges St-Pierre as the welterweight GOAT.
If all of that goes to plan, the allure of a McGregor fight in 2022 or 2023 may be too good to turn down.