Jorge Masvidal vs Kamaru Usman will finally take place at UFC 251
Kamaru Usman vs Jorge Masvidal is off with Gilbert Burns replacing Gamebred
Ariel Helwani revealed the real reason why the Jorge Masvidal vs Kamaru Usman fight isn’t happening.
Masvidal has been in a war of words with the UFC but was expected to fight Usman for the Welterweight title.
However, Gamebred has also been linked with fights against Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor. Only Diaz seems to be a reality now given that McGregor retired from fighting recently.
While Gilbert Burns moved up to the No.1 rank to fight Usman, the UFC still tried to put together Usman vs Masvidal.
Helwani tweeted an update regarding the possible fight and highlighted that the UFC could not negotiate well with Masvidal:
“UFC made one last effort to book Usman vs. Masvidal as late as yesterday, I’m told, but in the end they could not come to terms with Masvidal, so they gave the title fight to Burns.”
This worked out great for Burns after his excellent win over Tyron Woodley. It will be interesting to see what is next for Gamebred as he recently lashed out at Dana White.
Masvidal is one of the biggest draws in the UFC, however, he has been upset over the disparity in pay when compared to other top sports leagues.
In an interview, Masvidal highlighted that the UFC only shares about 18% of their take when compared to the other major sports leagues.
Masvidal added that some of these leagues are splitting pay 50-50, something which he wanted the UFC to look into.
The UFC is in heaps of trouble with Henry Cejudo leaving the promotion while Jon Jones has threatened to do the same.
McGregor has retired while Masvidal has also called for his release. The Welterweight division still has a ton of top stars and Burns vs Usman would be great.
However, not having Gamebred in the division would be a blow to the UFC.
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