UFC 258 is officially in the books. A strong main card was finished off with a war between Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns in the main event for the UFC welterweight championship. Burns won the first round, but Usman came out hard with his jab in the second round. The damage accumulated and Burns was knocked out in the first minute of the third round.

Burns and Kamaru Usman were teammates for a long time. A lot of this fight has been built on their previous friendship and it got really emotional after Usman finished Burns. The pair were visibly emotional during the fight winner’s announcement, sharing a long hug and conversation while crying.

This was an emotional journey for both men, who saw this fight canceled twice before. However, it finally happened and Usman stood tall as the champion. It was a true champion’s performance by Usman who weathered ‘Durinho’s’ early onslaught.

As a result of his third championship defense, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ is now one step closer to cleaning the division.

UFC 258: Where does Kamaru Usman go from here?

Now that Kamaru Usman has beaten Gilbert Burns, who does he face next? He has beaten all top contenders including Colby Covington, Tyron Woodley, Leon Edwards, Jorge Masvidal, etc. That means the only top contender he hasn’t fought, is Stephen Thompson. But right now, it looks like a rematch may be on the cards.

The most likely opponents for Usman right now are Leon Edwards or Jorge Masvidal. The champion called out Masvidal after this win, but ‘Gamebred’ hasn’t fought since UFC 251. Edwards is on an eight-fight winning streak and saw his booking with Khamzat Chimaev fall apart for the third time in three months.

Usman is now going to look to establish his resume to be in the same breath as the greatest fighters in the sport. While he did break Georges St-Pierre‘s win streak, he has a lot more title defenses to rack up before he is in the same conversation as GSP.

Also Read: Who is The Best UFC Fighter of All Time?