Champions rarely have to challenge, but UFC welterweight king Kamaru Usman has only one name on his mind after sending Gilbert Burns into his latest title defense.
Just moments after raising his hand in the UFC 258 main event, Usman turned his attention to former opponent Jorge Masvidal, who has been taking more than a few shots at him on social media lately.
Despite largely dominating Masvidal in their previous meet at UFC 251, Usman still feels like he’s not done with the “BMF” champion due to the circumstances surrounding the specific fight.
“I said I had a little respect for my name,” Usman told the UFC 258 press conference. ‘That fight, he had a built-in excuse. That’s the only reason he fought that battle. We’ve tried to fight twice before. He said no. When Khabib [Nurmagomedov] and I think it was [Tony] Ferguson dropped out, we tried. I called Dana [White] and I said ‘hey, it’s two weeks notice, I really did not practice, but I’ll jump in if you need me’ and they tried to fight but Masvidal said no.
He conducted an interview where he said, ‘Oh, the numbers were not right and this and that. “He said no. The only reason he fought the fight on Fight Island is because it was a built-in excuse. He practiced all the time, but he said, “I only had six days of notice, so it went like this.”
The UFC has attempted to discuss the fight beforehand, including negotiations with Masvidal for the fight last July, which was supposed to be tracked down for the first time on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. Unfortunately, the two parties could not reach an agreement and Gilbert Burns was named in place of the number 1.
Unfortunately, Burns fell off the map after testing positive for COVID-19, and Masvidal was secured as a late replacement before losing a unanimous decision to Usman.
While nothing was ideal about the way struggles came together, Usman says Masvidal’s claims that he only had six days to prepare could not even address the problems he faced with the same event. not.
“You’d think he first learned it because I was worse at it,” Usman said. ‘Everyone said,’ Oh, he took the fight with six days ‘notice,’ but guess what? I took notice on six days. I was here in Las Vegas and flew back home. They called me while I was in a fight between Dallas. I had to leave my suitcases, leave the airport, call my parents to pick me up at the airport, they picked me up, went straight to Target, bought a scale, stepped on the scale. Not to mention, I ate like a pig the night before because I said I did not fight. I’m 195 pounds when I step on the scale.
“Call the coach down there, Tony Cabello, I said, ‘Hey Tony, we need to practice. ‘Worked like crazy that night, climbed down about five or six pounds, then I came on the scales, I said we were within striking distance. Next day, fly back to Vegas and then fly to Abu Dhabi. I may have had about four days, I did not sleep at all to prepare for the fight and he has a built-in excuse. ‘
Regardless of the circumstances, Usman won the battle and it appears he was at peace with Masvidal after spending 25 minutes together in the cage.
The mutual respect that apparently appears in the weeks and months after the event ended, and now Usman is more determined than ever to fight Masvidal again to prove he is the superior fighter.
” Oh, I took the fight with six days notice, give me three weeks and see what I’ll do. “I’m giving you a whole training camp,” Usman said. “This time I really want to stop him because I think that’s the only thing that’s going to shut his mouth. Pretend you’re walking around here like he’s Jesus or something. Well, I’m going to put him in a coffin this time.
‘This time I’ll stop him. I promise you. So I was disappointed in myself the last fight because I know I can stop him, but with all the circumstances, I just went out there and dominated him from start to finish. This time I will stop him if he wants to act. ‘
The challenge has been set, but Usman is still not convinced that a second chance with Masvidal will really take place.
While Masvidal’s management team has already appealed to the Usman battle after possibly serving as coaches next season of The Ultimate Fighter, the reigning welterweight champion is not so sure it’s more than just lip service.
“He does not want the fight. “I guarantee you he does not want the fight,” Usman said. ‘I would not say if I did not want it. Have I lied to you yet? About anything? Nothing.
‘I said what I want to do and that’s what I’m going to do. Let’s see if it materializes. ”