When Kamaru Usman called for a rematch with Jorge Masvidal, detractors thought this was due to the BMF champ’s star power making it a big money fight. However the welterweight king says this is not true, and that he is the real star.
The first time Usman and Masvidal faced off, it was on short notice, but it wound up being a fairly one-sided fight that saw the champ defend his throne with a lot of control time against the cage. The Nigerian Nightmare walked away from that fight without surrendering a single round.
That is why it was somewhat surprising to see Kamaru call for a rematch with Masvidal, especially considering Jorge had not fought since their first encounter. Nevertheless, the UFC decided to book it, putting it atop the UFC 261 event on April 24th.
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Green Panty Night
The natural response from fans was that Kamaru Usman only wanted this fight with Jorge Masvidal, because Jorge is the most popular welterweight among casual fans. However the champ made it clear that this is not the case.
Speaking in a recent interview, the welterweight champion explained that the reason he wanted this second fight with Jorge was because he felt like there was a lot more he could have done. In fact, he believes that he is the real star attraction, not Masvidal.
“You can’t say you’re the star and that’s who I want to beat. That’s wrong because I have what everybody wants. So you can’t say that. Of course, does he bring more eyes right now? Absolutely,” Usman said,
“If I look at all the pools of guys, I’ve been through all of them and now I’m just lapping them all. If we’re running a race right now, I’m lapping everybody right now, and he’s the first guy. So he’s dead last right now, and the first guy that I’m going to lap. I’m lapping him.
“Does he bring a little bit more eyes? Absolutely, I don’t take that away from him. I’m proud of him for everything that he’s done, absolutely proud of him, and respect in that aspect,” Usman added.
“But let’s be honest, I have what everybody 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.”
Kamaru Usman Wants To Break Jorge Masvidal
Aside from the monetary aspect of this rematch, Kamaru Usman has another reason why he wants to fight Jorge Masvidal again. As much as he dominated the Miami native, he thinks he can do better the second time around, even with Jorge getting a full camp.
He feels like he did not get to break Jorge in the way that he wanted to. So this time around, he wants to make sure that everybody knows that he is the better fighter.
“I don’t think I broke him in the way that I wanted to break him. There’s something that satisfies me when I fight guys… When you’re in there with that opponent, it’s such an intimate moment there to 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 you,” Usman explained.
“With Masvidal, I don’t feel like I fully broke him the way I 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, and with him I don’t feel like I fully got there. So that’s really what I’m after, that’s what’s addicting to me, that’s why I continue to do this, is being able to break a guy to where they wake up in the morning and they to think about it, they just know ‘That guy’s better than me.'”
Kamaru Usman is going to have his chance to break Jorge Masvidal when they square up for a second time at UFC 262. It is hard to imagine the result being much different than the first time, but MMA is a crazy sport where the unthinkable happens all the time.
