Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal set aside their rivalry to reflect on impressive PPV numbers of their fights: "It was wild"
Jorge Masvidal and former UFC welterweight king Kamaru Usman recently reflected on the success of their fights in the UFC. Masvidal made an appearance on the Pound 4 Pound podcast, hosted by 'The Nigerian Nightmare' and former multi-division champion, Henry Cejudo.
Usman and 'Gamebred' discussed their first UFC matchup at UFC 251 that proved to be a huge success and sold 1.3 million pay-per-views.
Usman also spoke about how he got to witness Masvidal's star power in the lead up to their second bout at UFC 261. He said:
"We were very good businessmen together... You fired me up. I remember in the [UFC 261] press conference and the fans are going back-and-forth at me... We were the first fight back... I do remember that was a thing that was just like, 'This guy's big. Really big.' Because [for] people, that was Jacksonville, 6-8 hour drive. That goes to show the power that you had and how big you were in the sport, in the company at that time.
Masvidal also chimed in and labelled the UFC 261 event a "wild" experience. The 39-year-old claimed that the fight card set a precedent for the other sporting events to come during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"It was wild, right... It was the first show back to full capacity. The fans were extra rowdy... We set the tone for the whole world."
Check out Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal's interaction below:
How did the two fights between Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal play out?
Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal first locked horns at UFC 251, which was held in July 2020 in Abu Dhabi. The matchup was for the UFC welterweight title and headlined the fight card.
'The Nigerian Nightmare' used his grappling prowess to outclass Masvidal that night. The fight went the 25-minute distance and ended in a unanimous decision victory for the 37-year-old.
The two welterweights were then matched up for a second time at UFC 261. The event took place in April 2021 and the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida served as the venue.
This time, Usman blew the roof off the arena by delivering an incredible knockout in the second round of the fight.