UFC president Dana White is singing the praises of Jorge Masvidal.
Things are a bit rosier between Masvidal and the UFC, at least for now. Masvidal was supposed to receive a shot at the UFC welterweight title in July all along but negotiations got in the way. Masvidal didn’t like what he was being offered, so the title opportunity went to Gilbert Burns. “Durinho” tested positive for COVID-19 and Masvidal has stepped in to save the main event of UFC 251.
Dana White Heaps Praise On Jorge Masvidal
In an interview with TMZ Sports, White said that Masvidal played his cards right by taking the opportunity to challenge Kamaru Usman for the UFC welterweight gold on short notice (via BJPenn.com).
“It’s like the (Justin) Gaethje and Tony Ferguson fight. Gaethje saw the opportunity and took it. It was brilliant of Masvidal to slide in after Gilbert Burns tested positive,” White said.
“Gilbert Burns is the No. 1 ranked guy in the world. It was a great fight, it fell out. The fight the people want to see, the people’s fight, is this fight. It was absolutely brilliant of Masvidal to slide into this spot and take the fight.”
Fight fans have been eager to see Usman vs. Masvidal since the two got into a heated confrontation on Radio Row during Super Bowl week. Masvidal has said that Usman pretends to be someone he isn’t. Usman has expressed his desire to make Masvidal “squeal like a pig.” We won’t have to wait much longer to see who gets their way.
With Masvidal stepping in, UFC 251 remains with three title fights. The other two are a featherweight title rematch between champion Alex Volkanovski and Max Holloway, and a clash between Petr Yan and Jose Aldo for the vacant bantamweight gold. It all goes down this Saturday night (July 11).
