'I shock myself each and every day' - Kamaru Usman on breaking Georges St-Pierre's record

Reigning UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman has shared his thoughts on recently breaking Georges St-Pierre’s record.

Kamaru Usman’s most recent fight was a third-round TKO win over Gilbert Burns at UFC 258 (February 2021). With the victory, he broke Georges St-Pierre’s record for most consecutive wins in the UFC welterweight division.

Kamaru Usman’s winning streak in the UFC welterweight division stands at 13. Meanwhile, GSP had notched 12 consecutive wins in the division since his loss to Matt Serra way back in 2007. St-Pierre eventually avenged the defeat, amassed 12 straight wins at welterweight and retired.

Georges St-Pierre returned to defeat Michael Bisping for the UFC middleweight title before once again retiring from the sport of MMA. He thereby took his overall UFC winning streak to 13, albeit at welterweight and middleweight combined.

During an interview with MMA Junkie, Kamaru Usman was asked whether it’s weird to hear about him breaking Georges St-Pierre’s record. The 33-year-old replied:

“I wouldn’t say weird – Because, like, when I got into this, I had high expectations of myself because I don’t do anything half-a**ed. You know, I strive for perfection. And even if I don’t attain that, I still, you know, attain excellence. And so, I don’t, I wouldn’t say it’s weird to me. I would just say it’s surreal because when you say this is what I want, and you speak it out, and then you do the work that it takes to get there, and then you’re actually getting there, taking those strides – I shock myself each and every day.”

He continued:

“I shock myself when I go to sparring because I‘m nervous. Even to this point, when I go to sparring, even though I know all these guys, I know them well, I am still nervous when I step in there to spar these guys. And then after sparring, I shock myself like, ‘Wow, I did that well with Justin (Gaethje). I did that well with this guy. Justin didn’t kill me today’. You know, like, you know, I survived. And so, it’s always surreal to me when people start to kind of, you know, putting those things out there – Because when I was young, I just couldn’t really imagine how this was going to come to fruition. But I knew I had dreams of being great at something.” (*H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)

PUT SOME RESPECT ON HIS NAME 🏆 #UFC258 pic.twitter.com/FurU7SY99x

— UFC (@ufc) February 14, 2021

While talking about how he shocks himself every day, Kamaru Usman notably made a reference to his sparring partner, former interim UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje.

The Nigerian Nightmare had words of high praise for Gaethje and alluded to how challenging their sparring sessions truly are.

Kamaru Usman is set to defend his title at UFC 261 against Jorge Masvidal

Kamaru Usman (left); Jorge Masvidal (right)

Kamaru Usman is set to put his UFC welterweight title on the line against archrival Jorge Masvidal at UFC 261 (April 24th, 2021).

The first fight saw Kamaru Usman defeat Jorge Masvidal via unanimous decision at UFC 251 (July 12th, 2020).

It was a fight that Masvidal had accepted on just six days’ notice. That has piqued interest worldwide as fans wonder how differently the rematch will play out, with Masvidal now getting a full training camp.

What are your thoughts on Kamaru Usman’s statements about breaking Georges St-Pierre’s record? Do you see Kamaru Usman beating Jorge Masvidal at UFC 261? Sound off in the comments.