Jorge Masvidal is worried that Kamaru Usman returned to fight too soon after losing in a knockout to Leon Edwards at UFC 278.
Last August, Usman tried to defend his championship title in the welterweight division but ended up losing when Edwards knocked him out with an amazing surprise head kick. Afterward, Usman and Edwards fought again this past Saturday at UFC 286 and Usman lost once more – this time by a majority decision. The fight was tricky for Usman because he didn’t really have the upper hand during the bout.
Masvidal thinks that Usman may have lost his fight because he only had six months to prepare for it.
Masvidal said the UFC 286 main event was a bit disappointing. He thinks Usman might have taken this fight too soon and it may have affected his confidence. The old timers in boxing told him that after you get knocked out, you need to take time to let your brain and confidence heal before jumping back into the ring. Otherwise, if you get touched even slightly, you lose your nerve and think about what could happen again.
I don’t think the other fighter moved too soon. I think he’s a stronger fighter than Leon in many ways, but it seems like Leon can beat him easily right now.
“Gamebred” knows what he’s talking about. Masvidal had two fights with Usman where he fought for the welterweight title but lost both times – one with a wide decision and then by getting knocked out cold in the rematch. After the knockout loss, Masvidal stopped fighting for almost a year so that he could make sure he was ready to come back when he did.
Masvidal said that he took a break from fighting for around eight to nine months after he suffered his first knockout loss. His coaches wanted him to take a rest in order to make sure that his mind was healthy and ready for the next fight. Masvidal stated that although he is both physically and mentally over the incident, he still has not fully accepted what happened yet.
Masvidal said he still wasn’t done with what happened. He wants to get revenge and hurt Usman in the ring. Masvidal also mentioned that he has never been knocked out despite fighting with a lot of talented strikers — Yves Edwards included — and Usman is not as good as those great fighters.
He’s a great fighter because he is good at a lot of things. The first time I fought him, I had to lose 20 pounds of water in six days and then fight him in Abu Dhabi. Even with his best shots, he never hurt me or shook me up. 9 months later when we fought again, suddenly one punch surprised me – it was like something unbelievable as it was an unnatural strength that he gained within this time period.
Right now, Jorge Masvidal needs to focus on something different. He’s planned to face Gilbert Burns in the UFC 287 co-main event. Even though Dana White said that former interim champion Colby Covington will get the next shot at Leon Edwards’ welterweight title – Masvidal says don’t count him out yet!
Masvidal said that skipping Colby would be a great idea because Leon wants to get in the cage for UFC 287 which is taking place on April 8 at Miami-Dade Arena. He wants it more than anything and this event will sell the most pay-per-views if he and Masvidal are facing each other inside the cage.
