Masvidal Has Tamed Much More Ferocious Animals Than Usman
Although he did give some credit to Kamaru Usman, Jorge Masvidal believes he has faced tougher fighters than the UFC welterweight champion.
Once the fight schedule resumes, Usman is expected to defend his welterweight title against heated rival Masvidal. It will be a first chance at UFC gold for “Gamebred” who enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2019.
So would it be the biggest fight of his career so far? Masvidal responded to that question in a recent interview with BT Sport.
“Parts of it yes, parts of it no,” Masvidal said. “A fight is just more than the guy you have in front of you. It’s also a moment. It’ll be fighting for the UFC title, so that’s huge. But of the skill set? No.
“This animal hunter has tamed much more ferocious animals and wild beasts than this mere insect in front of him. So as far as that goes, skill level goes, no. This individual will be tamed on that night, this matador will tame the wild animal and with ease, as well.”
Usman is undefeated in UFC competition and has used his wrestling to dominate opponents en route to becoming the welterweight king. His most recent victory was a TKO win over Colby Covington in what was a pure kickboxing bout between the two wrestlers.
Masvidal did give “The Nigerian Nightmare” credit for that performance, but doesn’t expect the same when they eventually lock horns.
“I don’t know, he’s a boring-ass dude, man,” Masvidal added when asked what challenge Usman brings. “If I’m speaking from a straight tactical point, he doesn’t want to strike and he doesn’t fully commit to wrestling either. All he fully commits to is stalling. Just being a f*cking stall machine. For the first time he didn’t stall with [Covington] and it was a s*it kickboxing match and the world gave him all types of praise for it because he wasn’t his usual boring self and he actually threw some fists.
“But we all know he’s not gonna throw fists when it comes to me. He’s gonna try to act like he’s gonna throw fists and then he’s gonna go for the takedown and he’s gonna quickly find out I won’t ever get held down by that guy. I won’t get out-grappled by that guy. I’ll put my life on that, I’ll put my money on it. I’m from the firm belief system that I’m a better fighter than him and I’m going to prove it.”
An Usman vs. Masvidal fight was originally slated for International Fight Week in the summer. But due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, it might be a while before we see it.
