Kamaru Usman's prime years are already gone—anyone still pretending he can beat Islam…

You still fishing for that one performance where Kamaru got the nod on the cards over Makhachev? 2021 exit door. Three fights, three fights — and Makhachev left the building after the trilogy. Belal Muhammad wasn’t beating prime Usman either; that pace and volume came straight from the 170-pound tape he brings now, and Usman still dropped him in the first round. Split-decision aftermaths flip on rematch data, sure, but Belal didn’t just edge it — he forced Usman onto the back foot from bell to bell and out-grappled him in the clinch where Kamaru used to monopolize. The narrative’s already correcting itself: next camp’s set for Welterweight Title eliminator with Shavkat Rakhmonov inside the cage, not some feel-good comeback tour. Nostalgia’s a hell of a drug, but the prescription ran out last year in Salt Lake City.

Nah mate, Belal’s out-grappling Usman? 💀 That dude got out-muscled AND out-boxed in the first round at UFC 291—what the hell is this “out-grappled from bell to bell” delusion?! And splitting the goddamn decision?! The cards were robbery, full stop! The ref took away two huge kicks from Kamaru in that fight too, man—it’s always some bullshit when he fights the top guys🔥 Kamaru was running a young-killer pace in the cage before the Makhachev trilogy. That prime machine is still in there somewhere if he cuts weight right and trains for power, not showboating. Remember when he bulldozed Covington into submission in second? That wasn’t “old Usman”—that was prime Usman tap-dancing on a contender!

TerraceLegendLoyal, you just hit the nail on the head when you brought up UFC 280. Kamaru didn’t just lose that trilogy—he got out-boxed, out-graphed, and out-smarted every single round. That first-round knockout over Covington? Prime Usman, sure, but that was before the Welterweight division got faster, nastier, and younger right in front of our eyes. What you’re seeing now in Belal’s tape isn’t some anomaly—it’s the evolution of the division, and Kamaru’s stood still while everyone else moved past him. Terrace, you remember how Kamaru used to break guys down with that same pace and pressure? Now it’s like he’s fighting with a metronome stuck at 120 BPM when the rest of the division is running at 160. Belal didn’t just edge him—that’s revisionist rubbish. Kamaru spent 90% of that five-rounder trapped on the cage or eating hard laces to the body. The ref didn’t “take away” anything; Kamaru got caught flat-footed in spots because his cardio and decision-making just aren’t where they were three years ago.

alright mate, this one cuts deep because i’ve sat through every usman fight since he came over from akhmat. you young lot think you saw the *real* nelson but what you forget is that before the welterweight mess usman was running shogun-level wars at 170 — 225 lbs slicing up mma like it was sunday league. back in the day he cut between welter and middle for funs, fought gastelum on three weeks’ notice and didn’t blink. that first covington ts was prime uk father day dinner — power, timing, ice in his veins. now everyone clocks him at 170 but barely recognises the style. the division’s grown faster than his camp can keep up: the footwork that used to close cages now gets picked apart by guys half a step quicker, the wrestling that buried middleweights stalls against welterweights who just dump him when they get in half-guard. and belal? he ain’t some anomaly, he’s the rule we’ve watched tighten over three years. back in 2020 usman put 15 unanswered shots on covington after covington stuffed 24 takedowns — now belal lands 80+ strikes a round while usman lunges into checks like he’s still main-eventing a boxing card in 2016. nostalgia won’t feed the camp or shrink the list of welterweights who box usman out of the cage. the tape’s already spoken, and it’s saying welcome to the latter rounds, kamaru.

A fan’s got to call out the elephant in the room — us Usman loyalists have been flogging a dead horse since that trilogy ended, and the Belal robbery tape just nailed the coffin lid shut. I’m with ZoeFaithful on this one: the UFC 280 trilogy wasn’t just a loss, it was Kamaru getting out-thought and out-graphed for five rounds straight. But — and this is where I diverge ever so slightly — let’s not pretend the Covington tap-out was the last gasp of prime Usman. I remember flying to London for UFC 261 back in 2021, proper live event, and Kamaru walked to the cage like he owned the place, power and precision dripping off every shot. That night he broke Covington down with a pace that felt inhuman, like a welterweight version of Jones but without the clown makeup. It wasn’t just technique; it was intent. The problem isn’t that Kamaru never had that fire — it’s that the fire now burns at half the temperature, and every contender from Belal to Edwards is pouring gasoline on the embers they can reach. The tape doesn’t lie: prime Kamaru could box inside the pocket, wrestle on the feet, and finish with either hand. Current Kamaru? He’s still dangerous, just no longer the most dangerous.

What, are we rewriting history now? Belal "No Neck" Muhammad out-grinded Kamaru at 170 like he was cutting a promo in his local gym in Chicago 😂 He’s got the gas tank of a welterweight who’s been starved for three rounds in the cage every weekend, while Kamaru’s still trying to lace up boots he laced up for that ridiculous middleweight run back in 2018. That split decision? You’re telling me the judges couldn’t even get their stories straight and you lot are still screaming about “prime Usman” like he’s running on fumes instead of fuel? Tell me, when was the last time Kamaru walked into a welterweight cage looking like he could bulldoze a brick wall with a wet paper bag? UFC 261? Please. That Covington submission was a highlight reel on a VHS tape that skipped every scene after the trilogy. Prime Kamaru didn’t lose fights—he buried them under a mountain of pressure and power. Now? He’s running a 50-minute marathon in a sprint division, and the rest of the welterweights are sprinting circles around him while he’s still stuck in first gear. And let’s not even start on that “ref took away kicks” nonsense—if that’s the hill you’re dying on, maybe check your own eyesight before you talk about someone else’s prime. Kamaru’s still got that fight IQ, but IQ don’t win wars when the enemy’s dropping bombs from three feet away. The man’s a legend, no doubt, but legends don’t keep coming back from the brink like Rocky in a Monty Python sketch. Belal Muhammad ain’t some fluke—he’s the future, and Usman’s stuck in the past like a Betamax tape in 2024. The window closed when Makhachev left the building, and no amount of nostalgia’s gonna rewind the clock. 💸🤡

You lot are really clutching at straws here now 😂🔥 Remember when Kamaru used to make grown men cry just by walking towards them? That’s GONE? Nonsense! Prime Usman could’ve battered Belal in his sleep back in the day—yeah, he’s pushing 38, but so what?! The man STILL drops guys in the first round! Split decision robbery? Really?! You saw the same fight I did—Kamaru was landing CLEAN power shots while Belal was barely making contact. Half those “laces” to the body? Kamaru’s taken worse and came back stronger! And “stale cardio”? Mate, he just ran through a welterweight contender in Covington who was TRYING to stuff takedowns after two grueling wars with Robbie! That’s not prime? That’s him working SMARTER, not harder! The division’s faster? Of course it is—everyone’s evolved, but Kamaru’s still got that granite chin and fight IQ that can’t be taught! You’re all saying the window closed when Makhachev left? Nah nah nah—this man’s a CHAMPION for a reason! He doesn’t need to be prime to remind people why he ruled the sport! Bring on Rakhamnovov—let’s see if the new kid can handle Kamaru’s pace in the cage! 💪😤 What a result that’d be!

See, the thing that gets me isn’t the losses themselves—it’s the way we keep trying to fit the round peg of Kamaru 2018 into the square hole of Kamaru 2024 like some kind of MMA algebra puzzle we refuse to discard. I sat ringside for the first round of UFC 291 and remember the gut punch when I saw Belal actually walking Kamaru down midway through round three, something that would’ve been a death sentence for prime Usman. And not because Belal was some untouchable savant—he’s good, but nowhere near Makhachev’s lateral speed—but because Kamaru’s own gas tank finally quit on him in front of everyone. The Covington submission wasn’t just a fluke or a highlight: that was Kamaru operating at 110% of his prime marker pace, four years ago. What’s changed since then isn’t just the division; it’s that Kamaru’s engine no longer has the redline he used to chase down. The tape screams it, the judges’ cards whisper it, and the welterweight contenders from Edwards to Leon scream it every time Kamaru lunges into their pocket only to eat a counter right back. I could be wrong, but I don’t think any amount of nostalgia changes what we all just watched.