Kamaru Usman hints at moving on from Jorge Masvidal rematch, 'Gamebred' responds
Earlier this week, Kamaru Usman took a dig at #4 ranked welterweight Jorge Masvidal on Twitter. Usman claimed that he was being 'generous' in calling out the Miami native at the UFC 258 post-fight interview. After all, 'The Nigerian Nightmare' already decimated Masvidal in their first meeting at UFC 251.
It appears as though Kamaru Usman has now rerouted his intentions for his next matchup. In a recent Tweet, Usman stated that he is ready to accept whatever challenge presents itself, albeit he has not outright refused a rematch with BMF Jorge Masvidal.
Jorge Masvidal was quick in responding to Kamaru Usman's jibe on Twitter. At UFC 251, the BMF signed the dotted line on six-days' notice to fight 'The Nigerian Nightmare'. Making a reference to their first meeting, Masvidal stated that Usman is hesitating to face him with a full training camp.
Kamaru Usman utilized his superior wrestling credentials and churned out a unanimous decision victory against Jorge Masvidal at UFC 251. However, despite delivering a dominant performance, Usman did not receive the approbation that he felt he warranted.
MMA analysts cited Masvidal's shot notice appointment to be a disadvantage for him against Kamaru Usman and wondered how a fully trained Masvidal would fare against the champion. Usman has openly expressed his disdain for such criticism and wants to put an exclamation on his rivalry with Jorge Masvidal.
Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal as TUF (The Ultimate Fighter) coaches?
Jorge Masvidal claimed on Twitter that he broke Kamaru Usman's nose in their initial encounter at UFC 251. However, Usman refuted these claims in his post-fight interview at UFC 258 as he called out Jorge Masvidal. This set forth the speculation that TUF season 29 might have Masvidal and Usman as the coaches for the two rival teams.
The management teams for both athletes have also hinted at the same. Ali Abdelaziz (Usman's manager) told Brett Okamoto his management team was in talks with the UFC to appoint Usman and Masvidal as the coaches for the next season which is set to be shot this year.
If this proposition comes to fruition, it would certainly make for a great build-up for the rematch between the two combatants. Kamaru Usman recently posted a photo of himself with the BMF belt (awarded to Masivdal at UFC 244) along with his welterweight championship. This indicates that the Nebraska native might be interested in adding another belt to his collection.