"A lot was made of him taking the fight on 6 days' notice" - Kamaru Usman recalls his knockout of Jorge Masvidal in rematch
Kamaru Usman has taken a look back at his knockout win over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 261.
Last April in Jacksonville, the UFC welterweight champion put an end to his rivalry with Jorge Masvidal in pretty violent fashion. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' knocked 'Gamebred' out cold in the main event with a shot that few saw coming.
WHAT A KNOCKOUT! 💥
Kamaru Usman makes a statement by finishing Jorge Masvidal in the second round! 🇳🇬 🏆
#UFC261 https://t.co/Dk69ac9WXI
Masvidal was left to wonder what exactly happened, whereas Usman was strolling around the cage professing that he was the best in the world. Since then, he's further helped solidify his claim by defeating Colby Covington for a second time to ensure he kept hold of the 170-pound belt.
In a recent interview with Shannon Sharpe, Usman opened up about that moment as we approach the one-year anniversary of the win:
“I was unhappy with the first one [UFC 251], because a lot was made of him taking the fight on six days’ notice. But I also took the fight on six days’ notice. I also had to fly across the world to go fight him.”
“As a champion, all eyes are on you. You have to entertain and you have to go out and put on that performance each and every time. You give me six days’ notice for a completely different style that I haven’t prepared for, but you want the fireworks that you want from a champion. I couldn’t give that that night.”
“Once I got through Burns I said nah, we gotta do that one [Masvidal] over. Because he’s still walking around here talking about [six days].”
“I was gonna put something on him that he was never gonna forget.”
What's next for Jorge Masvidal?
Last Saturday night at UFC 272, Jorge Masvidal stepped back into the octagon for the first time since his UFC 261 loss to Usman. With the lights shining bright in Las Vegas, he was unable to get the job done against rival Colby Covington as he fell to a decision loss at the hands of 'Chaos'.
While he's insisted that he'll come back stronger, many aren't quite sure what the next step looks like for him. Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor are both feasible opponents for him to take on next. There is also a chance he could head over to the boxing world to fight Jake Paul.
At the same time, given that he's just signed a new deal with the UFC, Dana White may want to keep him exclusively in the octagon.