The UFC 249 main event between lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson is reportedly unlikely to occur, as Nurmagomedov is stuck in Russia because of travel restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Upon hearing the news, welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and BMF titleholder Jorge Masvidal said they wanted to fight to save the event. Things appeared like the bout could get made; however, each fighter started to shift the blame of the bout not happening on the other.
Usman took to social media on Tuesday to explain why he wanted to face Masvidal to begin with.
“The real reason I wanted the fight is because, guys, this guy is so much hype, he understands, he knows he can’t hold a candle to who I am, to what I can do,” Usman said. “He knows that. This guy is all hype. He relies on the hype. He relies on all the casual fans to jump on the bandwagon — that’s what he’s relying on. But I knew that fight would not have people in the stands — it would be empty. So, old school wrestling style, like I be doing way back in high school, just us in the gym, we don’t need the crowd, we don’t need anybody.
“You know why, guys? Because I want you guys to hear what I’m about to say to him in there. I want you guys to hear every blow. I want you guys to hear, once I take him down, every punch, every elbow, every ground-and-pound strike I throw. I want you guys to hear him squeal like the pig that he is. I’m not even sure he’s Cuban, guys. He could be Puerto Rican or Dominican, something, and they’re not even claiming him. Not even Mexico is claiming him. Y’all see him wearing a Mexican color one day, the next day he’s wearing this, he’s wearing that. Nobody is claiming this guy, but I wanted you guys to hear him squeal like a pig, like the little b— that he is.
"I wanted you guys to hear the weird sounds he’s going to make once I elbow him, and I’m slicing up his face and dropping hammers on his face. I wanted you guys to hear all that. Nobody in the stands, no fans to cheer him on, so he feels like he’s somebody, nobody, just me and him, that’s how I like to break guys.”
During an Instagram live chat Monday, Usman said that he had a notion that Nurmagomedov wouldn't be able to take on Ferguson, so he reached out to UFC president Dana White about facing Masvidal if need be. Usman claims the UFC told his manager that it couldn't reach Masvidal.
That appeared to be news to Masvidal, who posted on Twitter that he's ready to compete on April 18 at a location that hasn't been revealed.
The welterweight champion wasn't buying Masvidal's comments, though.
"Today, the news breaks, the first thing these guys do, jump on Twitter, try to clout chase, try to get fans on their side 'Oh, I'm free April 18.' No, you're not free," Usman said on Instagram. "If you're free, call Dana White right now. They're not free. He's running his mouth because he's trying to clout chase right now. They're talking about Usman said 'no.' Usman is saying 'yes' right now. We can still make the fight. They don't want that fight."
Masvidal fired back at Usman, saying he accepted the fight to happen and it was the "Nigerian Nightmare" who turned it down for the second time.
Masvidal's manager, Abraham Kawa, also went to Instagram and said that the UFC reached out to them about his client squaring off against Usman.
"If there's one thing you know about Jorge, he doesn't have to lie, he's got no reason to lie, he's got no issues," Kawa said. "We have accepted the Usman fight twice now, two times. Once for NYC, we all know how that ended up. Usman said no, he didn't want to make that fight happen. Now we accepted again, and he's saying we turned it down. That's a damn lie. We got the phone call. We were asked. We knew this was coming. We said 'Absolutely, let's go.'"
Usman isn't buying what Kawa and Masvidal are selling.
"It's his management team tweeting for him, but guess what? When you let your management team tweet for you, you condone that behavior," Usman said. "This guy's a fraud. He's a phony. That's why I wanted to put him on blast."
The saga continues.