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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight champion Kamaru Usman suffered a broken nose in his unanimous decision victory over top contender Jorge Masvidal following their short-notice showdown in the UFC 251 pay-per-view (PPV) main event last month on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi.
Once “The Nigerian Nightmare” is all patched up and ready to return to action, he could be facing a familiar foe. That’s according to “Gamebred,” who teased a possible rematch for his late November or early December return to combat sports.
“Hopefully, December/November,” Masvidal told ESPN. “My opponent has a broken nose, he’s going to be out for a couple days due to me. He does have a broken nose. I think next week we’re going to find out just how long he’s out for and then we’ll start determining who will be the next fight and where.”
That might not work for No. 3-ranked title contender Leon Edwards.
“Let’s make it happen,” Edwards said about his grudge match with Masvidal. “It’s the only fight that makes sense for me outside the championship, everyone else in the Top 5 is already booked, so let’s get it.”
Gilbert Burns is expected to get the next crack at Usman while Tyron Woodley and Colby Covington are in talks to settle their longstanding score, so that would leave Edwards and Masvidal as the odd men out, though to be fair, they certainly have a history of violence.
Expect to find out sooner, rather than later.