UFC GOAT Kamaru Usman cautioned against boxing Canelo Alvarez

UFC legend Georges St-Pierre has given his thoughts on where Kamaru Usman ranks in the greatest of all-time debate.

When mixed martial arts fans delve deep into the ‘GOAT’ discussion, a handful of names always come to the surface.

Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Demetrious Johnson and Fedor Emelianenko all tend to be in the mix.

Beyond that, though, there are two stars from the welterweight division that have made as much noise as anyone – Georges St-Pierre and Kamaru Usman.

As a two-weight UFC champion and a two-time title holder at 170 pounds, it’s no surprise that GSP is viewed as one of the best to ever do it. In equal measure, Kamaru Usman has been on quite the run as of late after successfully defending his welterweight crown five times in the last few years.

In a recent interview, St-Pierre provided a candid answer to the age-old question of where Usman fits into the GOAT conversation.

“It’s a different time,” St-Pierre said. “We competed against different people in a different time. I think Kamaru Usman, he could be the greatest of all time right now. However, I think you need to wait until the end of the career of someone before saying he’s the greatest of all time because sometimes your stock can go up or it can go down, you know? But he’s definitely up there, you know what I mean?

“He’s definitely among the best of all time, 100 percent. He’s on a tear. I really enjoy watching him fight.”

St-Pierre went on to note that he doesn’t mind if Usman is considered to be the welterweight GOAT, saying that he’s come to realise with age that he cares more about what the people he loves think of him than those outside of his circle.

After dispatching Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal, Usman is ready to move on to another rematch on August 20 as he prepares to defend the strap against Birmingham’s own Leon Edwards.

‘Rocky’ has earned his shot at the belt with a 10-fight unbeaten streak but with Usman looking as good as he ever has, the pound-for-pound king will be heavily favoured to leave Salt Lake City with the championship around his waist.

But the duel the Nigerian Nightmare has been advised to shelf his plans to enter the boxing world and his goal is to face Mexican fighter Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.

About this possibility, the Englishman Edwards did not hesitate to point out that, although Usman is a skilled fighter in the octagon, he would face different conditions in case he competes in a ring.

During his appearance on The MMA Hour, Rocky was even more direct in ruling him out as a possible winner of a hypothetical duel against the world boxing champion.

"No... He's too slow. Flat-footed. He can't. Canelo is already one of my favorite boxers, you know," he said.

In fact, the British believes Usman should be more patient and reflect on his next move.

"I don't think he is what he thinks he is. As far as punching, who has he fought? It's like when an amateur comes into the gym and starts to be successful in the gym, and fights and is successful, but then that ends. In fact, some people think they might be the best in the world.... I think he really believes that," he emphasized.

The truth is that Leon Edwards wants to break the hegemony of Kamaru Usman who is considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC.

And what better scenario to make his goal a reality than Salt Lake City, where a new Mixed Martial Arts event will take place.

Both fighters already know what it's like to face each other. In December 2015 they saw each other's faces, with Usman winning by unanimous decision at that time.

In this sense, the Nigerian gladiator is obliged to endorse the good moment he is going through in his career, because only in this way he could perhaps attract the attention of Saul Alvarez to hold a fight that would give him back the levels of popularity that for a long time.