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Kamaru Usman is absent for the blood of Jorge Masvidal after his successful title defense at UFC 258.
After beating Gilbert Burns in a third round TKO in Saturday’s headliner at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Usman has made it clear he’s more interested in one fight than any of the others: a rematch with Masvidal.
Usman (18-1 MMA, 13-0 UFC) earned a dominant unanimous decision victory over Masvidal (35-14 MMA, 12-7 UFC) last July at UFC 251, but the fight went unanswered to the expectations of many – including the champ himself – after meeting on just six days’ notice. Usman is not happy with this and wants a second try with Masvidal to leave no questions.
“He had a built-in excuse,” Usman told reporters, including MMA Junkie, after the fight at UFC 258. “That’s the only reason he took this fight. We tried to make this fight. twice before; He said no.… He said no. The only reason he took this fight on “Fight Island” was that there was an excuse built in. He was training all the time, but he said, “Oh, I only got six days’ notice, that’s why it happened this way. Well guess what? I’m going to give you a whole training camp, and this time I’m going stop it, I promise.
“That’s why I was disappointed in myself this last fight because I know I can stop it. But with all the circumstances that unfolded, I just went over there and dominated it from start to finish. So this time, I’ll stop him if he wants to intervene, but I guarantee you he doesn’t. He will be silent.
There have been ongoing discussions about Masvidal’s next fight against former best friend turned avid rival Colby Covington. With Usman’s demand, however, the promotion may shift gears.
UFC president Dana White has not made a commitment, however, but has made it clear that he will at least listen to Usman’s request.
“There are a lot of options for him right now,” White said. “If this is the fight he wants, and this is the fight Masvidal wants, and I’m sure people would love to see him too.” … I do not know.”
Usman has said he will eventually knock down any obstacle placed in front of him, but it is obvious that Masvidal is the most attractive to him. If he makes his wish come true, he promised that the ending would be worse for “Gamebred”.
“I’m going to put it in a coffin this time,” Usman said. “He doesn’t want this fight. He doesn’t want this fight. I guarantee you he doesn’t want this fight. I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t want to. Have I ever lied here? Have I ever lied to you about something? Nothing. I said what I wanted to do and this is what I’m going to do. We will see if this materializes.
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