Kamaru Usman to target Georges St. Pierre in UFC mega-fight, should the champion retain his belt against Jorge Masvidal
- Kamaru Usman would relish a mega-fight against all-time great fighter Georges St. Pierre.
- Usman puts his UFC welterweight championship belt on the line in a high-stakes "Fight Island" main event at the purpose-built Flash Forum.
- "Fight Island" is a quarantined area of Yas Island, in Abu Dhabi, and is a festival of elite mixed martial arts competitions, starting Saturday, July 11, and ending on July 25.
- Usman fights Jorge Masvidal on July 11 and both fighters have been linked with lucrative showdowns should they win.
FIGHT ISLAND — Kamaru Usman said he would target all-time great welterweight Georges St. Pierre in a UFC mega-fight, should he retain his title at UFC 251 on Saturday.
Standing in Usman's way is the No.3 ranked challenger in the 170-pound division, and champion of the "Bad Mother F-----" belt, Jorge Masvidal.
The two athletes collide in the headlining bout in the UFC's most significant card of the year, the first of four events on "Fight Island," a quarantined area on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
Both fighters weighed-in Friday at the welterweight limit, 170 pounds, at a ceremony inside the Flash Forum, the behind-closed-doors, purpose-built arena which holds all "Fight Island" bouts this month.
After the ceremony, Usman, who was talking through a coronavirus mask to comply with UAE government regulations, said should he beat Masvidal, he would relish a future battle with St. Pierre.
"The next after Masvidal … I don't know, that's up to the promotion," Usman said. "Whoever they throw at me, is who I'm going to take on. I don't like picking and choosing.
"[But] of course … I would love Georges St. Pierre."
St. Pierre has spoken before of a mega-fight
A two-weight UFC champion who once held the record for most wins in title bouts, the Canadian athlete, last competed in 2017. He came out of a four-year retirement to beat Michael Bisping with a third-round rear-naked choke, adding the middleweight title to his honors roll.
Though St. Pierre has not competed in an MMA fight since he did say earlier this year that he had for a long time been interested in a mega-fight with the reigning UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
According to St. Pierre, 39, the UFC was loathed to give him a shot at Nurmagomedov because he said the company feared he'd win and immediately retire with the championship.
"They didn't want to take the risk of me winning the title and then vacating again," St-Pierre told ESPN in April.
Usman is not the only Fight Islander linked to a money fight
At the Flash Forum on Friday, during the same media event, Usman had spoken of his desire to pursue a St. Pierre fight, the UFC president Dana White told reporters that UFC 251 on Saturday was already trending higher than a Conor McGregor fight.
According to White, it could be one of the best-selling cards in UFC history.
"This thing is trending higher than a Conor McGregor fight. The only thing this fight is comparable to is Conor vs. Khabib [the best-selling UFC fight ever]," White said.
Should Masvidal defeat Usman and add the welterweight title to his "Baddest Mother F-----" belt, then could a bout between him and McGregor become the biggest UFC fight ever?
"Yeah, it could be," White said.
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