Nigerian-American mixed martial artist Kamaru Usman on Sunday morning defeated Gilbert Burns to retain his crown as the undisputed welterweight champion at UFC 258.
Usman made his former training partner and friend bit the dust in the third round, leaving him in tears.
“This was a very, very tough one because of the whole gym situation,” Usman said. “You cannot disrespect what Burns has done. We started together and he showed it tonight.”
Usman had struggled in the beginning to tame his opponent as Burns capitulated on the pressure.
However, the Nigerian Nightmare found his rhythm back as he hurled some heavy punches at Burns, putting him to the sword.
Usman has now won 17 fights inia row, including 13 in the UFC, to surpass St-Pierre’s record winning streak in the welterweight division.
The 33-year-old also matched Khabib Nurmagomedov’s record for most consecutive wins to kick start his UFC career.