Tag: Jorge Masvidal

Former undisputed welterweight kingpin, Kamaru Usman has admitted to Jorge Masvidal that prior to their two-fight series, he was legitimately wary of suffering a hellish knockout loss – or as the latter put it, a “baptizm”. 

Usman, a former undisputed welterweight champion and prior pound-for-pound number one fighter under the banner of the UFC, has been sidelined since last October, succumbing to a third straight defeat in a controversial decision loss against the unbeaten, Khamzat Chimaev.

However, twice sharing the Octagon with inaugural BMF title winner, Masvidal between 2020 and 2021, Usman twice defeated the Miami veteran – the second of which in a devastating second round one-punch KO victory in ‘The Sunshine State’. 

Kamaru Usman admits to Jorge Masvidal he was worried to fight him

And in a recent sitdown podcast, Usman admitted to Masvidal that he most feared to share the Octagon with him during his tenure with the UFC – claiming he was worried about suffering a “baptizm” in the form of a brutal knockout loss.

“I’m trying to picture all this, but I’m seeing this every day,” Kamaru Usman told Jorge Masvidal on the Pound-4-Pound podcast. “They’re [the media] asking me in every interview, how are you gonna deal with this? I’m watching your interviews and you’re saying, ‘I’m gonna baptize this guy.’”

“I’m like, ‘Oh sh*t, is he gonna baptize me? What the f*ck is this?’” Kamaru Usman explained. I’m in a hotel, and I’m super nervous for this, especially that moment before you go to the arena for the fight, and I’m in a room just like, ‘Why the f*ck am i so nervous right now? Get it together.’” 

As for former UFC star, Masvidal, the veteran striker is slated to make his return to combat sports next month in Las Vegas – taking on fellow promotional veteran, Nate Diaz in a professional boxing match, rematching following their 2019 mixed martial arts fight at Madison Square Garden.

What are your thoughts on Kamaru Usman’s talk with Jorge Masvidal?

Former undisputed welterweight kingpin, Kamaru Usman has admitted to Jorge Masvidal that prior to their two-fight series, he was legitimately wary of suffering a hellish knockout loss – or as the latter put it, a “baptizm”. 

Usman, a former undisputed welterweight champion and prior pound-for-pound number one fighter under the banner of the UFC, has been sidelined since last October, succumbing to a third straight defeat in a controversial decision loss against the unbeaten, Khamzat Chimaev.

However, twice sharing the Octagon with inaugural BMF title winner, Masvidal between 2020 and 2021, Usman twice defeated the Miami veteran – the second of which in a devastating second round one-punch KO victory in ‘The Sunshine State’. 

Kamaru Usman admits to Jorge Masvidal he was worried to fight him

And in a recent sitdown podcast, Usman admitted to Masvidal that he most feared to share the Octagon with him during his tenure with the UFC – claiming he was worried about suffering a “baptizm” in the form of a brutal knockout loss.

“I’m trying to picture all this, but I’m seeing this every day,” Kamaru Usman told Jorge Masvidal on the Pound-4-Pound podcast. “They’re [the media] asking me in every interview, how are you gonna deal with this? I’m watching your interviews and you’re saying, ‘I’m gonna baptize this guy.’”

“I’m like, ‘Oh sh*t, is he gonna baptize me? What the f*ck is this?’” Kamaru Usman explained. I’m in a hotel, and I’m super nervous for this, especially that moment before you go to the arena for the fight, and I’m in a room just like, ‘Why the f*ck am i so nervous right now? Get it together.’” 

As for former UFC star, Masvidal, the veteran striker is slated to make his return to combat sports next month in Las Vegas – taking on fellow promotional veteran, Nate Diaz in a professional boxing match, rematching following their 2019 mixed martial arts fight at Madison Square Garden.

What are your thoughts on Kamaru Usman’s talk with Jorge Masvidal?

Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal were once rivals as the two fought twice for ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’s’ welterweight title both times.

During the build-up to both of their fights, it was full of trash-talk as the two took aim at one another. Usman ended up winning the first fight by decision, which Masvidal took on just days’ notice, while in the second time, he knocked ‘Gamebred’ out.

Although the two used to be rivals, they are friendly now as Kamaru Usman had Jorge Masvidal on his Pound 4 Pound podcast and the two showed respect to each other.

Usman: My man, Jorge, first of all, thank you for the time, thank you for being here with us. We have had a past, a lot of people from the outside don’t really understand what we do as gladiators when we step in there, stepping out, we are humans and most importantly, we are men. I just want to thank you for your time.

Masvidal: We are competitors, me and you never went on the personal line. There is one guy, I won’t even mention his bitch ass name. Everybody else who I have competed against, I wish nothing but the best for them in life. I wish they go and do their thing, open up gyms or hit the lottery or whatever. One dude that I can’t stand this motherf****r, I can’t even say his name or police will show up on me.”

It is cool to see Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal share respect for each other as that is a big part of martial arts.

Kamaru Usman admits he was scared going into the first Jorge Masvidal fight

Heading into the first fight against Jorge Masvidal, which ‘Gamebred’ stepped up on just days’ notice, Kamaru Usman admits there were nerves for him.

Masvidal was coming off KO wins over Nate Diaz, Ben Askren, and Darren Till in his return to the sport. So, going into the first fight, Usman says he was afraid that ‘Gamebred’ would baptize him and KO him as he had been doing.

“I’m watching [Jorge’s] interviews, ‘I’m gonna baptize this guy’, and it gets to me,” Usman said on the podcast. “I’m like ‘Oh s***, is he gonna baptize me? What the f***?’. And I’m in the hotel, and I’m super nervous [for the fight]. Especially that moment before you go to the arena for the fight, I’m in my room like ‘Why the f*** am I so nervous right now? Get it together, get it together’… I would say that was one of the most nerve-wracking fights that I had. All the circumstances.”

Ultimately, Usman ended up winning a decision in the first fight in a rather lackluster fight. The two then had a rematch and it was Usman who won by KO.