Demetrious Johnson expects to see the king hold onto his crown at the conclusion of Kamaru Usman vs. Gilbert Burns at UFC 258.
Johnson (30-3-1) caught up with Fightful ahead of Saturday's pay-per-view main event fight. The former UFC flyweight champion sided firmly with Usman.
"Kamaru Usman, I think he's too good. I think he's well-rounded," said the ONE Championship contender. "He's good striking, but he's a fucking super athlete. I think he's going to get it."
Welterweight contender Vicente Luque is a little less convinced. Luque has shared time in the gym with both UFC 258 headliners.
"It's going to be a great fight, I'm sure of that. I gotta go with Gilbert just because he brings something that Kamaru has never faced. A BJJ guy. A great grappler on the ground. He's not the kind of guy that Kamaru is going to take down and pummel him," Luque argued. "He's going to have to be defending submissions, defending sweeps and while all that is going on, Gilbert can get up. Gilbert has really good striking as well. He's really explosive. I go with Gilbert. It's going to be a tough fight but I think Gilbert gets it done in the later rounds."
UFC women's featherweight title challenger Felicia Spencer can see the fight swinging in either direction; however, she says the safe bet is Usman.
"I can see Gilbert winning it at the beginning of the fight. The longer it goes, the more it goes towards Usman, I'd say," Spencer shared. "Usman has a way of making it last a long time or dragging it out. If I had to put money on it, I'd put it on Usman but it will be an exciting first round for sure."
UFC 258 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, February 13. The pay-per-view card is headlined by a UFC welterweight title fight between champion Usman and top contender Burns. Keep up with Fightful for all your pre-fight, live and post-fight coverage.
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