How Usman and Masvidal's rivalry has grown ahead of UFC 261
Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal will renew fierce rivalry at UFC 261… the welterweight duo were separated by security in Miami bust-up last year and there is no love lost between old foes
- Jorge Masvidal stepped in to face Kamaru Usman on short notice last year
- Fight Island scrap did 1.3million pay-per-view buys and Usman won decision
- UFC have now announced they will have rematch for title on April 24 with crowd
- Pair have lengthy history and grudge match will be highly anticipated
Everyone loves a grudge match, particularly in the UFC when the first fight pulled in 1.3million pay-per-view buys.
So it comes as no surprise that Kamaru Usman and welterweight rival Jorge Masvidal will lock horns once more on April 24.
Usman took his opportunity on the mic to call out his old foe after wiping the floor with Gilbert Burns to defend his belt last month.
Kamaru Usman dominated Jorge Masvidal, who took the first fight on six days notice
Usman has since retained his belt and will meet Masvidal again on April 24 this year
TOP UFC PPVs
1: UFC 229 – Khabib vs McGregor (2018) (2.4m)
2: UFC 202 – Diaz vs McGregor 2 (2016) (1.65m)
3: UFC 257 – McGregor vs Poirier 2 (2021) (1.6m)
4: UFC 100 – Lesnar vs Frank Mir 2 (2009) (1.6m)
5: UFC 196 McGregor vs Diaz (2016) (1.5m)
6: UFC 194 Aldo vs McGregor (2015) (1.4m)
7: UFC 251 – Usman vs Masvidal (2020) (1.3m)
The ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ is among the most dominant champions in the UFC and with no obvious contenders, the organisation was happy to oblige.
Masvidal is box office and even though he was well beaten on six days notice last July, there is always an appetite to see him perform.
In the aftermath of defeat, he was been adamant that with a full camp to prepare the result would have been different.
‘I want that damn belt, and I’m stubborn. And I know I’m better than Usman, and I want to prove it. I want to fight again,’ he told ESPN.
‘I’m not going to take nothing from him — he won the first one. Let’s do it again.
‘I’m sure Usman would be onboard, because this is the most money he’s made.
‘So if he wants to make that big-boy money again, gotta run it back, come on, let’s go. So in business that makes sense. I don’t know what his management is thinking or what he’s thinking, but obviously that’s what I want to do.’
Usman followed up his win over Burns by fully reigniting the rivalry with Masvidal, saying: ‘The only reason this man took the [first] fight is because it was on six days’ notice and he had a built-in excuse, and he’s still running his mouth.
‘I’ll give you a whole training camp. I guarantee you won’t sign on that dotted line because this time I’ll finish your ass.
‘Anyone of these fools can get it; any one of them. But he keeps running his mouth. If he’s gonna talk, step in there and you gotta see me.’
Even though there was a degree of respect after the first fight, animosity has always bubbled under the surface between the pair.
The major flashpoint in their rivalry came on Super Bowl radio row last year at Miami Beach Convention Centre. The event is a massive media hive of activity and both Usman and Masvidal used it as a chance to boost their profiles.
At the time, Masvidal was riding the crest of a wave after knocking out Darren Till behind enemy lines in London, becoming the BMF champ by beating Nate Diaz and delivering the 5-second flying knee KO of Ben Askren.
The pair came face to face at Superbowl LIV in Miami and had to be separated by security
But Usman was still the champ and the duo were on an unavoidable collision course.
When they caught sight of each other at the event in Miami, security immediately had to be on their toes.
‘Do something!’ Usman said. ‘That’s all I hear you talking. Do something! You come up talking. Do something!’
Masvidal replied:’ You got a cast on, b****. I ain’t going to take advantage of you like that. You got a cast on b****. You lucky. That’s the only reason nothing’s happening.’
‘Do something, I’m right here do something, you’re making hand gestures,’ Usman hit back.
Masvidal, making a gun sign, added: ‘Nah I’m gonna kill you, I’m gonna f*** your ass up.’
After the altercation, Usman took to Twitter to write: ‘Lil b**** brought his camera to try and flex and act hard. I was solo and if you wanted to do something you could have tried but you didn’t lol #youplayedyourself #cloutchaser #tookanotherL’.
‘Usman’s going to get baptised man,’ Masvidal said after the incident. ‘I don’t really like this individual, so why not get paid and f*** up someone I don’t like?’
Masvidal had launched his own Recuerdo Mezcal and was already a fully-fledged superstar but negotiations over a fight with Usman broke down.
‘Gamebred’ claimed the organisation were low-balling him so the UFC booked Burns instead.
Only it came back to bite them when Burns tested positive for coronavirus and they were left scrambling to replace him.
Masvidal was waiting in the wings. This time he did get paid and the UFC filled their coffers too, raking in 1.3m pay-per-view buys which made it the seventh most lucrative fight in company history.
Masvidal is regarded as having superior stand-up but could not make it pay at UFC 251
The ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ has promised to finish Masvidal when they meet for a second time
‘I’m happy more than anything, because I get to break this guy’s face and get paid for it,’ he told Ariel Helwani.
Usman accepted the replacement but did not think Masvidal was worthy of the challenge.
‘Honestly, if I’m being honest, do I believe that he deserves the fight next? No, I don’t think that he deserves the fight. But at the same time, he’s got the hype right now,’ he told TMZ.
‘He seriously thinks he’s a superstar. He’s talking about how I’m the most famous fighter, I’m more famous than Conor and this and that. You are drinking your own Kool-Aid right now. He forgets that literally less than a year ago or two years ago he was just “Journeyman George.”‘
Usman has been one of the most dominant champions in the UFC since taking the belt
The fight itself never truly caught fire. Masvidal was well controlled and dominated in the clinch by Usman but the champion never came close to a finish, a nagging regret he has since vowed to put right.
‘I will give him a whole training camp and this time I will stop him,’ Usman vowed after UFC 258.
‘That’s why I was disappointed in myself from that last fight because I know I can stop him. With all the circumstances that took place, I just went out and dominated him from start to finish but this time I will stop him. I guarantee you he doesn’t want to step up.’
But Masvidal has signed on the dotted line. The fight is on and the rivalry renewed and there isn’t much chance of a quiet few weeks ahead of April 24.
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