Before UFC 249 was canceled, Kamaru Usman claimed that Jorge Masvidal had turned down the chance to fight him at the event, since he wasn’t in shape.
Well, now Masvidal’s come out and acknowledged he turned down the UFC’s offer. But, according to Masvidal, it was for a very different reason than what the welterweight champ claimed.
After it became clear that Khabib Nurmagomedov was stranded in Russia, on account of a travel ban in the nation, the UFC scrambled to find a new main event for UFC 249. Usman proceeded to report that he had been asked to fight Masvidal at the April 18th event.
According to Usman, Masvidal passed since the contender had allegedly said he wasn’t in shape and ready to fight.
“It’s not going to happen to be honest,” Usman said. “He has turned down the fight. He has turned it down. He said, ‘No, I’m not ready to fight. I’ve been smoking and drinking and I’m fat and I’m not ready to take the fight.’ That’s what he said. He’s been drinking that liquor that no one can pronounce the name of.”
Masvidal’s manager was quick to deny that was the case. More recently, Masvidal spoke with BT Sport.
While talking about the proposed addition to UFC 249, and why it didn’t happen, the BMF champ said this (quotes via MMA Junkie).
“There was a deal on the table, but when the full deal and the whole extent of it got brought through and how it was going to play out, the budget really wasn’t there in a way for what we were asking,” Masvidal said.
“The price tag that I put out there, they didn’t wanna pay. This other guy, who knows if he was in or not, but my price wasn’t met.
And for the risk-to-reward factor, I wanted to get compensated and the compensation wasn’t really there.”
“We weren’t too far off either, we can make it work in the future for a fact,” Masvidal said. “I think in July, I’ll be beheading this guy for the whole world to see.”
It seems pretty clear that the UFC wants Usman’s next title defense to be against Masvidal. Earlier this year, Dana White said the promotion was hoping to book the match-up for its summer schedule, and that July was likely.
But, with the ongoing pandemic, and all the fights that have now been postponed, it’s hard to say what will happen.
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