The fight at UFC 244 for the BMF title between Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz was one of the biggest in 2019.
Masvidal won by third-round TKO when a doctor from the New York State Athletic Commission determined that Diaz could no longer continue because of a severe gash over his eye. The victory cemented Masvidal as one of the biggest names in the sport, which concluded with The Rock strapping the belt around his waist.
With the Diaz contest behind him, the next logical step for Masvidal would be battling welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. But with two belts seemingly in the division, would Usman be interested in collecting another piece of hardware?
"Who, what?," Usman said while laughing at a news conference Thursday in advance of Saturday's UFC 246, headlined by Conor McGregor against Donald Cerrone. "I’m not interested in this mediocre fighter title. I’m not interested in that. (Points to his title) This is gold. When I got into sports, I always shot for the best. The last time I checked the prices on silver wasn’t continuously going up. The price on gold is going up. Always wanted to go with that silver. I got the gold, so that’s all that matters to me."
Usman (16-1) won the welterweight title in a dominating performance over Tyron Woodley at UFC 235 in March. Then back in December at UFC 245, Usman successfully defended his championship for the first time by a fifth-round stoppage of Colby Covington in one of the most exciting bouts of last year.
The interest in Usman-Masvidal is there, but the champion said recently that Masvidal hadn't earned the right to face him. But if the UFC wanted him to take on Masvidal, then he would oblige.
"It doesn’t matter," Usman said. "Like I said, I’m the champion. If Dana calls me and says that’s the fight, then guess what, that’s the fight. I just ask when and let my managers have that meeting and we decide when."