UFC 258: Timeline in the career of Kamaru Usman
By Samuel Nemec
Kamaru Usman and the road he traveled to be defending his welterweight title at UFC 258.
When UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman enters the Octagon Saturday night to defend his belt for the third time, he’ll also be looking to add to his 12-fight win streak. A win at UFC 258 will make it 13 straight wins for Usman and have him join some elite company in doing so. Only Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre, Jon Jones, Demetrious Johnson, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Max Holloway have ever held 13-fight win streaks inside the UFC.
Usman has hardly been challenged in his time with the UFC, tallying up nothing but finishes and unanimous decisions, but before he takes on Gilbert Burns – friend and former teammate – at UFC 258, let’s look back and review the career of the reigning welterweight champion.
Here’s how Kamaru Usman got to UFC 258
Nov. 30, 2012
At RFA 5 in Kearney, Nebraska, a 25-year-old Usman makes his professional mixed martial arts debut by scoring a second-round TKO finish of David Glover.
May 24, 2013
In just his second professional bout, Usman would suffer defeat for the first time when he was submitted in the first-round by Jose Caceres at CFA 11.
July 12, 2015
After the loss, Usman rattles off four straight TKO victories and receives an invite to The Ultimate Fighter 21 – American Top Team vs. Blackzilians. Usman would ride this momentum and make it to the finale as the Blackzilian’s chosen fighter. At The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale, Usman would beat Hayder Hassan via a second-round submission to win a six-figure contract with the UFC.
Dec. 19, 2015
In his first fight under a UFC contract, Usman defeats a young Leon Edwards by unanimous decision at UFC on Fox 17 in Orlando, FL.
Sept. 16, 2017
At UFC Fight Night 116, after starting his UFC career with four dominant decision victories, Usman delivers his first knockout with the promotion when he put Sergio Moraes to sleep in the first round.
May 19, 2018
Usman would headline his first UFC event when he fought Demian Maia in the main event of UFC Fight Night 129. Usman would have no problem taking care of Maia under the bright lights, beating the legendary Brazilian by unanimous decision.
Nov. 30, 2018
Despite riding an eight-fight win streak in the UFC, Usman would struggle to have a top contender sign on the dotted line to fight him. That is until Rafael dos Anjos accepted the challenge at the Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, NV. That night, Usman solidified himself as the next rightful title challenger by dismantling dos Anjos and picking up a unanimous decision victory that featured 50-43 and 49-45 scorecards from two of the judges.
March 2, 2019
Usman fulfills his dreams by defeating Tyron Woodley at UFC 235 to capture the UFC welterweight championship. “The Nigerian Nightmare” mauled Woodley en route to a unanimous decision victory that had judges giving Usman every round (50-44, 50-44, 50-45). Usman would make history by becoming the first-ever African-born UFC champion.
Dec. 14, 2019
Usman gets his first opportunity to headline a pay-per-view card when he takes on bitter rival Colby Covington in the main event of UFC 245. Covington proved to be Usman’s toughest test to date by delivering a back-and-forth battle for over four rounds. But in the end, Usman stood superior as he picked up a fifth-round TKO finish of Covington to successfully defend his belt for the first time.
July 11, 2020
While slated to face friend and former teammate, Gilbert Burns, at UFC 251 in the first installment of UFC’s Fight Island, a positive COVID-19 test would have Burns pulled from the event and the need for a replacement heightened. The BMF champ, Jorge Masvidal, would replace Burns on just a week’s notice and meet Usman on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE, for one of the year’s best selling pay-per-views. Even with the last-minute opponent change, Usman would have no problem cruising to another unanimous decision victory and successfully defending the welterweight belt for a second time.
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