After suffering a brutal knockout loss in the UFC 261 main event, Jorge Masvidal is taking Kamaru Usman’s snappy post-fight remarks in stride.
Coming into UFC 261, Jorge Masvidal had never been knocked out in his UFC career. He has been on the giving end of knockouts, though, particularly in 2019, when he was regarded by many to be the fighter of the year.
One of those knockouts came against Ben Askren at UFC 239 with a flying knee straight from hell that sent “Funky” into the clouds. With Askren already snuggled into dreamland the moment Masvidal’s knee connected with his skull, Masvidal wanted to ensure Askren was in the slow-wave sleep stage by landing some follow-up punches to his already unconscious opponent. When asked about the punches in the post-fight press conference, Masvidal replied that the shots were #SuperNeccesary, which became a bit of a slogan for Masvidal thereafter.
Masvidal Now On The Wrong End Of “Super Necessary” Strikes
In the main event of UFC 261, Masvidal found himself in a very similar position to Askren. Though not as out as Askren was on first impact, the fight’s conclusion seemed academic at best following Usman’s devastating right cross. Not unlike Masvidal at UFC 239, Usman wanted to make sure the king of the streets of Miami was properly snuggled in for his nap by delivering some follow-up punches that only further separated Masvidal from what was left of his consciousness.
Usman then found himself sitting in the same seat Masvidal was in after the fight, being asked if the follow-up shots were warranted. Usman visibly enjoyed having the chance to use Masvidal’s catchphrase against him.
“Extra shots? What do you mean? Those were extra shots? The ref didn’t pull me off yet, so I keep going until the ref pulls me off,” Usman said at the UFC 261 post-fight press conference. “And, you know, those were super necessary.”
During an ESPN interview this week, Masvidal was asked about Usman’s remarks, and here is what he had to say about them.
“Obviously, it’s done on me, but I love it. This is why I love this sport. Taking me out, making me just an entity that I’m watching and I’m thinking, ‘This is the guy that does it to everybody and has done it in a very brutal way. Now, it got done to him.’ Gotta love this sport. Because I’m telling you, in this sport, there is no god. It’s just man vs. man, and man is not perfect. Anything can happen. That’s why I love this game. That’s why everybody around the world loves this game. It’s beautiful, poetic, mathematical, scientific, it’s just insane. It’s an adventure every time. It’s crazy, man.
“I never would’ve thought he would do that to me out of all the animals I fought in the standup world, guys that make their money off standup. It hasn’t happened to me. Now, it does, so it’s what this game is, MMA. I love it.”
Jorge Masvidal’s appreciation of the poetry behind the knockout seems to extend to the apropos remarks from Usman. This is a far cry from Conor McGregor, who accused Usman of “creative infringement” for remixing his “red panty night” catchphrase. Unlike McGregor, Masvidal sounds as if he is giving Usman his blessing to bite his style by stealing his catchphrase. After all, it’s not as if he hasn’t earned the right to do so.
Would you take it as disrespect if you were in Masvidal’s position and Usman used your own catchphrase against you after knocking you out?
