Fight week is here for Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal. And Kamaru Usman is here for it.
The UFC Welterweight Champion may be looked to as an expert when it comes to this grudge match at UFC 272. Usman has spent 10 rounds in the cage with Covington and 7 rounds with Masvidal.
‘Emotional Battle’
Usman says he is more than excited to see his two ‘sons’ fight this weekend. As the matchup quickly approaches, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ has quite the insight. He thinks ego will have a factor in this fight, given the heated circumstances between his rivals.
“I believe that whoever could keep their ego in check is who’s going to have the slight edge,” Usman told ESPN. “We can already see how it’s playing out here who’s kind of getting the better of who— I want to say, Colby’s kind of [getting the better of Masvidal]. Because with Covington, there’s no line. He’s willing to step all on that line and around it and over it, and maybe pee on the line. He’s willing to do all of that to potentially get that reaction.
“I think this fight is important [to Covington], but I just don’t think it’s as important to Masvidal as fighting for the title, being the champion of the world. I just don’t think it’s just as important. It’s important for a different reason, of course, but I just don’t think it’s as important to where he can’t be sucked into that emotional battle.”
Who Has More To Lose?
Usman gave Covington a slight edge in that department right there. However, when it comes to ‘who has more to lose’, he believes that goes to Masvidal. ‘Gamebred’ has lost two in a row to the welterweight and another loss to Covington could crush his career.
“I think [Masvidal] has a little bit more to lose,” Usman revealed. “So, I think there’s a lot more pressure on that one. So I would say it’s how they deal with the pressure. One has a tremendous amount of pressure to where [Covington] could drop the fight, but talk himself into another fight. That pressure factor, that’s going to be the difference.”
Masvidal may have more to lose at UFC 272, thinks Usman. But we will see how the fight plays out between the two former title challengers.
Where They Can Go From A Win
Covington and Masvidal’s futures after this main event are still uncertain. They have both lost to the champ twice. Despite this, Usman has an idea where they will end up, should they win this weekend.
“Covington? Should he win? He still right there. He’s still holding that top spot to where all roads lead through him, anyone new that’s coming towards that title, they have to go through Covington… Maybe a potential third fight down the line. If he’s able to continue to just take out all these guys and demolish them, then a potential third fight down the line.
“But if Masvidal was able to go out there and get the job done. I mean, it’s Masvidal. He’s kind of in that position to where he could kind of pick and choose certain fights that interests him. I hate to be vain here, but you’re not going to be world champion when the champion is still there. So I think picking the fights that will probably be good for you financially is a good thing for him.”
Prediction Time
While he gave Covington gave a slight edge over Masvidal, he is torn on picking a winner for this fight. He is absolutely torn on predicting the fight. Usman sees the fight playing out two completely different ways.
“My prediction is Jorge Masvidal could in an exchange, land something that potentially gets Covington out of there.
“Or Colby Covington can go in there and get ahold of him, drag him down. Make him stand up, drag him down, exchange with him, get ahold of them, drag him down. Just slowly wears on him and wears on him until he’s able to squeak out that unanimous decision.”
We’ll see which way it plays out at UFC 272 on Saturday.
