"It’s the fight that people wanted, and it’s the fight that people are getting,” says Kamaru Usman on his title bout with Jorge Masvidal
The UFC 251 PPV has been surrounded in a cloud of excitement, as Jorge Masvidal is now finally getting his much-awaited title shot against Kamaru Usman. However, that hasn't come before a massive shakeup in the card. First, the UFC and Jorge Masvidal went into a standoff where neither party was willing to come to terms.
Then Gilbert Burns took the center stage and made his claim for the title shot and the UFC gave it to him. However, Burns tested positive for COVID-19 and thus Jorge Masvidal finally replaced him to take on the champion, Kamaru Usman.
Kamaru Usman gives his thoughts on stardom and Jorge Masvidal
Kamaru Usman weighed in on the situation while answering media questions. The Nigerian Nightmare said that fighters do have to rely on opponents to draw attention to fights. However, Kamaru Usman then said that a few did manage to break this rule.
“At the end of the day, it takes two to tango,” Kamaru Usman said “It’s very hard for just one guy to be able to go out there and really sell to the masses. If I had to think about it, there’s maybe a couple of guys in the history [of combat sports] that are able to do something like that."
He then spoke about Masvidal being a potential big draw. Kamaru Usman said that a few fighters like Mike Tyson and Conor McGregor were stars big enough to change the narrative. Kamaru Usman also said that Gamebred hoped to achieve that level of stardom.
“Obviously, Mike Tyson and kind of where Conor [McGregor] is approaching at this moment. But it’s only for so long that you can sell bullsh*t to the fans. The fans know if you have someone that’s worthy of a challenge or not. And the fact that Jorge had such an amazing year in 2019, it puts him into that category to where he’s the next biggest challenge for me. It’s the fight that people wanted, and it’s the fight that people are getting.”
The confidence Kamaru Usman is maintaining makes it look as if he is sure he will get the win and the Masvidal hype. This confidence should be fun to watch in action.