UFC 244: Jorge Masvidal Trashes Kamaru Usman, Says Champ “Can’t Fight”

Kamaru Usman has won 14 straight fights and is coming off a dominant win over one of the best welterweights ever, Tyron Woodley. But, evidently, Jorge Masvidal isn’t impressed – at all – with the skillset of the UFC’s welterweight champ.

The road to Diaz – Masvidal

Masvidal is booked to fight Nate Diaz at UFC 244, which will take place on November 2nd in New York City. After Diaz defeated Anthony Pettis at UFC 241 in August, he called for a fight with Masvidal. “Gamebred” said he was on board, even though previously he had been driving for a title shot. The booking came, however, after the UFC reportedly tried to sign Usman – Colby Covington for the main event of UFC 244 instead.

Masvidal trashes Usman

Well, Masvidal headed to Mexico City this past weekend for the UFC’s latest event. While talking to the media about how his fight with Diaz came together, “Gamebred” proceeded to lay into Usman (quotes via MMA Junkie):

“They told me several names – one of them was Usman. I said, ‘OK, let’s go.’ They told Usman this is the fight. He said no. They told him, ‘If you don’t fight, we’re going to take the belt away from you,’ and they started looking for another fight – that person was Nate Diaz.

“Usman called. ‘I want the fight.’ And they told him, ‘Too late. We have Nate Diaz, a guy that does want to fight,’ and that’s it. We have the hardest fight that exists in the whole history of the UFC on Nov. 2.”

“Why do you think he said no, my brother?” Masvidal said. “That guy knows that I’m going to baptize him. That guy has never wanted to fight with me. That guy can only do one thing right: smell balls good. He can’t fight. He has his face there. He doesn’t want to (throw hands), even when he has the chance to throw the hands, and when he has the guy on the floor, he doesn’t do anything.

“…I have a lot of respect to the community of wrestlers, like Khabib (Nurmagomedov). I have a lot of respect for him because he tries to finish fights, he tries to get his hands in there, he tries to choke people. Someone like Usman, I don’t respect his style at all.”

Now, Usman, his team and his supporters would almost certainly take issue with a lot of what Masvidal said here. It is true that Usman doesn’t have many finishes on his record, but, few people have had any answers for the champ’s comprehensive game.

All this aside, it will be interesting to see if Usman – Covingoton ends up getting signed, and if Usman and Masvidal collide in 2020. If they both win their next bouts, it’s hard to imagine that not happening.