It’s been a tough week for ESPN reporters.
Not long after UFC President Dana White called media mainstay Ariel Helwani a “douche” for his take on The Caranolorian, longtime welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal took aim at MMA correspondent Brett Okamoto for being “fake.”
Seems Masvidal wasn’t a fan of the way Okamoto was cozying up to 170-pound champion Kamaru Usman, who wants to rematch “Gamebred” and “put him in a coffin” following the new season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) on — you guessed it — ESPN.
“I run Miami,” Usman told Okamoto. “Miami is mine. He doesn’t run anything in Miami. You don’t run anything in Miami if you’re getting beat up like that. No city wants a loser. Miami is mine. I run Miami. So yes, he gets to leave his house to come fight in my arena in Miami. It’s gonna be a great place to do it. I don’t think they’ve ever had a UFC fight at the AAA Arena, so that would be amazing.”
Masvidal’s response:
When @espn uses their fake MMA reporter to report on a guy with a personality disorder #freemarty https://t.co/oOTlN5mjoP
— Jorge Masvidal UFC (@GamebredFighter) February 18, 2021
ESPN pays UFC a hefty sum to air live events.
The promotion has yet to greenlight the Usman-Masvidal rematch, but it looks like the sportsbooks are already siding with the champ. Probably because “The Nigerian Nightmare” previously shut down “Gamebred” at UFC 251 last summer.
Perhaps it’s time to end that “full camp” argument once and for all.