After his third successful title defense at UFC 258, Kamaru Usman remains adamant about running it back with Jorge Masvidal.
Late last month, reigning UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman revealed that he fought Jorge Masvidal last July with a “shattered” nose. Feeling like he wasn’t able to accomplish what he set out to do, despite the one-sided win, “The Nigerian Nightmare” said he wanted to run it back.
Usman got through the test at hand on Saturday night when he stopped former teammate Gilbert Burns via third-round TKO. After the dust had cleared, he remains adamant about a rematch with “Gamebred.”
“We got this little street thug calling himself Jesus, he thinking he’s Jesus,” Usman told Joe Rogan during the post-fight interview. “We tried to make that fight several times, they tried to make that fight. But he kept backing out.
“The only reason this man took the fight is because it was on six days’ notice, and he had a built-in excuse. And he’s still running his mouth, talking about, ‘Oh, he broke my nose and stepping in on six days’ notice.’
“Guess what? It’s not done. I’ll give you a whole training camp, I guarantee you, you won’t’ sign on that dotted line because this time, I’mma finish your ass.”
Usman says he’s willing to fight whoever steps up to the plate, but if it were up to him, a rematch with Masvidal will happen next.
“Anyone of these fools can get it. Anyone of them. But he keeps running his mouth. If he’s gonna talk, step in here and you gotta see me. Step in here and see me.”
The first and only “BMF” champion has not responded to the challenge, but manager Malki Kawa spoke on Team Masvidal’s behalf.
Let’s do It. TUF. Masvidal vs usman. We accept.
— malki kawa (@malkikawa) February 14, 2021
When asked about it during the post-fight scrum, UFC president Dana White didn’t give a definite answer. He didn’t disagree, either.
“There’s a lot of options for (Usman) right now. And if that’s the fight he wants and that’s the fight Masvida wants, and I’m sure the people would like to see it, too. So, I don’t know.
Apart from established himself as the king at 170-pounds, the 33-year-old champion set a notable record for himself.
Welterweight Kings #UFC258 pic.twitter.com/DZpwrXCMlU
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 14, 2021
Usman also took home $50,000 for Performance of the Night.