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If there was a common thread in the title victories at UFC 261 that had an effect on the sport’s top 10 pound-for-pound rankings, it was the fact that both fighters benefitted from the same mastermind in the corner.
Heaping praise upon Trevor Wittman as quite possibly the best coach in mixed martial arts today isn’t necessarily a new pastime. Yet it’s clearly a worthy one following title triumphs last weekend from two of his biggest named clients.
Wittman was in the corner for welterweight champion Kamaru Usman’s destruction of Jorge Masvidal via one-punch knockout in their rematch headlining the card, just as he was in the co-main event when Rose Namajunas reclaimed the 115-pound throne by stopping Weili Zhang via first-round head kick in a finish that was no less spectacular.
A 47-year-old native of Denver, Wittman has also stayed busy in recent years as the architect behind lightweight contender Justin Gaethje’s transformation from reckless brawler to technical assassin, which took him as far as a title shot in 2020 and his own spot (for a time) on the P4P rankings. Yet the work Wittman did at UFC 261 would be enough for most coaches to retire upon with their head held high.
In just his third training camp as the strategic mind behind what had already been a dominant run through the welterweight division for Usman, Wittman’s ability to help his pupil add distinctive layers to a striking game that was recently considered non-existent has been a thing to behold.
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Already considered among the most technically brilliant and dominant wrestlers in MMA history, Usman’s improvement on his feet was perfectly stamped home by his stunning finish of Masvidal, one of the UFC’s most durable fighters who hadn’t been stopped due to strikes since 2008. At 33, Usman is improving by leaps and bounds, which helped him climb up the P4P rankings at a swiftness that can best be described as a perfect storm.
Usman may have benefitted from Khabib Nurmagomedov’s recent retirement, Jon Jones’ close fights (and inactivity) and Israel Adesanya’s recent defeat to find an opening to secure the top spot. But he certainly wouldn’t have seized the adulation without his evolution into a dominant finisher.
Conversely, Wittman was just as effective in guiding Namajunas back to the top of her division following a season of doubt (and public thoughts of retirement) in the aftermath of her knockout loss to Jessica Andrade two years ago.
Namajunas rebuilt her confidence thanks to surviving a war with Andrade in their 2020 rematch. But it was Wittman’s drilling about the potential opening for a high kick to circumvent Zhang’s guard that Namajunas gave credit to after her stoppage win.
The victory allowed Namajunas to move even closer to the top of a women’s P4P list, which includes two of the greatest fighters in history atop it in Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko (who defeated Andrade at UFC 261 to defend her flyweight title). It was also a reminder of how far she has come under Wittman from the days of her first title loss in her 2014 UFC debut back when Namajunas was known only for her submission skills, all the way to becoming a master striker of her own.
For CBS Sports’ updated divisional rankings, click here.
Men’s pound-for-pound rankings
Dropped out: Justin Gaethje
Just missed: Petr Yan, Charles Oliveira, Gaethje, Brian Ortega, Aljamain Sterling
Women’s pound-for-pound rankings
Dropped out: None
Just missed: Germain de Randamie, Holly Holm, Aspen Ladd, Yan Xiaonan, Jessica Andrade