UFC president Dana White likes the idea of booking Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal.
Last night (Dec. 14), Usman defended the UFC welterweight championship against Colby Covington. The title bout headlined UFC 245 in Las Vegas. In the fifth round of a back-and-forth battle, Usman scored the TKO victory to retain the gold.
White Likes Usman vs. Masvidal Next
With Usman vs. Covington living up to expectations, White feels it sets the stage for Masvidal’s 170-pound title opportunity (h/t MMAJunkie.com).
“It’s massive,” White said at the UFC 245 post-fight press conference. “So think about this: How many times have we sat in this room, we did the lead-up to this big grudge match, these two guys hate each other going into the fight, and then I’m sitting here going, ‘And that fight sucked.’ How many grudge matches have actually been incredible fights? I say none. Maybe one I’m forgetting about, but they all pretty much suck.
“This grudge match was awesome, two guys in their prime who are at the top of the game, and the fight was the “Fight of the Night” in an incredible card. Yeah, the Masvidal fight vs. Usman, it’s a big deal. He fought (Nate) Diaz for the ‘BMF,’ belt and now to fight for the actual title against the guy who’s tough as nails, it’s fun.”
Masvidal is coming off a third-round TKO victory over Nate Diaz last month. “Gamebred” is riding a three-fight winning streak. In that span, he’s stopped Darren Till, Ben Askren, and Diaz.