If [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] truly wants to fight UFC welterweight champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag], he might want to think twice about it.
That essentially was the message from Joe Rogan after McGregor, a former UFC featherweight and lightweight champ, said last week that he will “waltz back in” to a 170-pound title shot against Usman upon his return to the octagon.
“Now he’s talking about fighting Kamaru Usman. Be careful what you ask for,” Rogan said Wednesday on his “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast. “Be careful what you ask for. Usman is a big man, and he’s top of the food chain right now.”
Usman (20-1 MMA, 15-0 UFC) currently is on a remarkable 19-fight overall winning streak and hasn’t lost since his second professional bout in 2013. His streak includes 15 consecutive UFC wins and five defenses of the welterweight title. He holds wins over the likes of Jorge Masvidal (twice), Colby Covington (twice), Gilbert Burns, Tyron Woodley, Leon Edwards, Rafael dos Anjos, and more.
All of that adds up to Usman being the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in both the official UFC and USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings. Rogan concurs.
“That’s the best pound-for-pound fighter alive, Kamaru Usman, and he’s a natural 170,” Rogan said. “You’ve got to remember: Conor McGregor won the title at 145 and then he went up to 155 and knocked out Eddie Alvarez and became the champ-champ. Then he fought at 170, but he fought ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone, who is a natural 155 pounder. No knock on ‘Cowboy.’ ‘Cowboy’s’ beat a lot of good 170 pounders. He’s an elite fighter, but Usman’s a different thing. That’s a different peak. There’s no oxygen at the top of that mountain. That’s as good as it gets ever at 170.
“I would put Kamaru Usman up against any 170-pound fighter that’s ever lived. I’m not saying that he would beat Georges St-Pierre, I’m not saying he would beat all of them, but he might beat all of them. He might be the best that’s ever been at 170. He’s as good as they get. He’s got ferocious knockout power, he’s elite at wrestling, nobody puts him on his back.”
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McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) once was in the conversation of best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, but those days are a distant memory as he’s 3-4 since 2016, which most recently includes back-to-back losses to Dustin Poirier last year. McGregor, who’s almost fully recovered from a broken leg, remains the UFC’s pay-per-view king, and UFC president Dana White didn’t immediately shut down the possibility of McGregor receiving a title shot upon his return.
But it’s clear to Rogan that a matchup with Usman would be a dangerous proposition for McGregor. On top of Usman’s skill set, there’s the natural size difference – which makes things even worse.
“Come the f*ck on, son. (Usman is) fucking jacked,” Rogan said. “And he’s about perfect for 170 in terms of his dimensions. He’s just tall enough, just strong enough. … Imagine 15, like, beautiful cowboy-cut ribeyes. That’s the advantage that Usman has.”
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