Jorge Masvidal is a happy man.
Masvidal steps in on six days’ notice to challenge Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title in the new UFC 251 headliner taking place July 11 on Abu Dhabi’s Fight Island.
Although it’s not the most ideal circumstances as he didn’t have a proper training camp, “Gamebred” was training throughout and believes he is more than capable of beating Usman.
The pair clearly don’t like each other and after failed negotiations earlier on which led to Gilbert Burns getting the title shot, Masvidal is happy to get the opportunity to break Usman’s face and get paid his worth at the same time.
“I’m happy, more than anything, because I get to break this guy’s face and get paid for it,” Masvidal told Ariel Helwani. “But one thing I’m not going to do which I’ve done a long time in my career is get underpaid. That’s not gonna happen. Not from here going forward.”
Masvidal: I Know The Coward Usman Is
It’s not clear how the beef between the pair started.
But one thing is for sure — Masvidal is not a fan of Usman’s personality, having posted a video displaying the many sides of “The Nigerian Nightmare” earlier this year. That notably came after Usman’s infamous “who?” comment about Masvidal potentially facing him next.
“Have you not seen him speak, how he speaks about everybody? Everything’s just negativity and downplaying people,” Masvidal explained when asked why he didn’t like Usman. “The type of person I am — a wise man also said this quote to me, broke it down in a much better way than I can break it down but listen — ‘I’m going to dim your light to make mine brighter. No, I’m just going to make my light as bright as I can.’
“This man has constantly been throwing disses at me for a while. I just don’t believe anything he says. I know the coward that he is. I’ve known this guy for quite some time in South Florida. He’s a guy who was coming up, asking for pictures four or five years ago. Now you’re this thug life guy? I don’t believe it, man.”
As for how the fight actually goes down? Expect violence.
“Me baptizing his ass in front of the whole world,” Masvidal added. “Cold-blooded as can be. His body grasping for air. Just going to baptize him for the world to see. It’s going to be violent. It’s going to start violent, it’s going to end violent.”
You can watch the full interview below:
