Kamaru Usman has his share of doubts as to whether or not the grudge match between Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal will actually happen.
Entering 2021, there were many fights on the wish list of the MMA community, some of which have already been made. But there is one particular fight that seems to be stuck in the negotiation process with no reported movement whatsoever, that being the targeted bout between best friends turned better enemies Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal.
Even the welterweight champion Kamaru Usman is intrigued by the fight. Despite the fact that Usman has had his personal differences with both men and that he has already defeated them, he knows a great fight and story when he sees one.
“I think that’s a fantastic matchup,” Usman said in a recent MMA Fighting interview. “I would watch that for sure. I mean, yeah, I disposed both guys, but I still would like to see what would happen.
“And these guys trained together for years. These guys lived on each other’s couches, and these guys shared everything. They shared food, shared burgers, and shared women, shared beds. So it would be interesting to see who was the leader of all that back when they shared those moments together.”
Kamaru Usman Has His Doubts On If Covington/Masvidal Fight Will Happen
Prior to Kamaru Usman’s bouts with both Covington and Masvidal, there were some drags in the negotiation processes. As the negotiations for Usman’s eventual UFC 245 bout with Covington stalled, Usman claimed that the difficulties were occurring from the Covington camp and that this was the case in the previous five occasions that Covington allegedly turned down fighting him.
The same was the case with the Masvidal negotiations. Usman claiming that the delay in the eventual UFC 251 main event was due to Masvidal refusing to come to terms with the UFC. Both Covington and Masvidal issued the blame to Usman in these instances, but Usman believes that his personal experience in negotiating with them calls into question whether or not they will be able to come to an agreement to fight one another.
“So I think, obviously, it’s an intriguing fight, but I don’t know if it’s actually, really gonna happen because I think both guys…I know from my experience trying to get a fight with those guys wasn’t always the easiest, and that’s both of them,” Usman said. “So I can imagine how hard it’s gonna be just to get both of them to fight each other.”
There have been rumors that Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal will be taking part in the next season of The Ultimate Fighter, but this has remained unconfirmed for months. Covington has been quite vocal about the negotiation process, pinning all blame on Masvidal and stating that Masvidal told the UFC brass that he does not like the stylistic matchup against Covington. UFC President Dana White has confirmed that this is indeed the fight the promotion is trying to make. Meanwhile, Masvidal has not addressed the fight negotiations publicly.
Do you believe we will see Colby Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal this year or do you have the same doubts as Kamaru Usman?
