Dana White Announces Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal Is Next
Everyone is wondering who Jorge Masvidal will fight next. Well, UFC president Dana White just answered that question.
White spoke on “The Jim Rome Show” today (Fri. January 31, 2020) in Miami for Super Bowl media week, and revealed that the plan is to book Masvidal against UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman for International Fight Week. No concrete date was given for the fight, but it looks like this is the direction the Las Vegas-based mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion is leaning.
“We’re gonna bring him [Masvidal] to Vegas,” White said. “So him and Usman will fight in Vegas, probably international fight week, and then if he wins, maybe we’ll do his first title defense down here in Miami.”
This week Masvidal and Usman actually got into a verbal altercation at Super Bowl media day, exchanging words and needing to be separated by security. There’s no telling what would’ve happened had security not been around. When asked if Usman vs. Masvidal was always the plan next, White admitted it was, however, it seems like the altercation intensified those desires. White added that the UFC wasn’t ready to announce the fight yet, but he was doing it anyway.
“Yeah, that was always the plan. And then whatever happened with them, a couple of days ago or yesterday, whenever that was – yeah. We hadn’t announced it yet, but now this has forced me to announce it.”
Masvidal comes off of a 2019 Fighter Of The Year run in which he finished all three of his opponents; Darren Till, Ben Askren, and Nate Diaz. Now, “Gamebred” has earned himself a shot at the 170-pound title. As for Usman, he comes off the first title defense of his career, finishing Colby Covington in the fifth round of their UFC 245 main event after breaking his jaw midway through the fight.
It will be interesting to see how Usman and Masvidal match up against each other stylistically, especially with the added personal beef.
What do you think about the UFC booking Usman vs. Masvidal next?
