The rematch has been set for a while now, and we are closing in on Kamaru Usman x Jorge Masvidal II. There is no shortage of bad blood in this fight, and that was well on display both leading up to the first fight back in July of 2020. When asked about his thoughts on his challenger for his Welterweight title, Kamaru Usman had some interesting things to say.
Full Quote from MMAFighting.com via ESPN.
“So yeah, does he bring a little bit more eyes? Absolutely. I don’t take that away from him. I’m proud of everything he has done, absolutely proud of him. Respect in that aspect but let’s be honest, I have what everyone wants. It’s green panty night when you fight me. He’s not getting the pay-per-views and stuff like that on his own. He has to fight me.”
When you think about it, Kamaru says that the finances don’t really play a part in the decision making, but it has to, right? His first fight with Masvidal drew a reported 1.3 million pay-per-view buys, so it is clear that he had major help in drawing. His most recent fight with Gilbert Burns drew a reported 800,000 buys. But one other thing to think about is UFC 261 this month, the card they are fighting on, is a three championship fight card in front of a full capacity arena. Eye balls will be all over this card.
When asked about the first fight, Usman said:
Honestly, I don’t think I broke him the way that I wanted to break him,” Usman said. “There’s something that satisfies me when I fight guys and that’s the thing that I believe years ago Jon spoke about this. When you’re in there with that opponent there’s an intimate moment where only you and that guy know what’s going on. Only you and that guy know how hard he hits you, only you and that guy know how hard I’m coming at him. And with Masvidal, I don’t think I fully broke him the way wanted to. With everyone else, I know when I broke them. I know when I broke their spirit, I know when I broke their heart, but with him I don’t feel like a fully got there.
Kamaru Usman is one of the most dominant champions not only of this generation, but he is trending towards being an all time great. If he can dispatch Jorge Masvidal on April 24th in Jacksonville, Florida, us as fans and writers can debate on his place in that all time ranking, and his move up the P4P rankings as well.
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