Advertisement
UFC 261: Kamaru Usman trolls Jorge Masvidal, defends ‘super necessary’ extra shots
- Welterweight champ says he ‘blessed’ Masvidal in second-round KO, and insists ‘I keep going until the ref pulls me off’
- ‘I might not have come in a private jet, but I’m damn sure leaving in one,’ Usman says after emphatic rematch victory
Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
1
Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman made sure to show Jorge Masvidal respect, but used one of his opponent’s most famous lines to defend the extra shots he landed after knocking him out at UFC 261.
Advertisement
“The Nigerian Nightmare” (19-1) – who stunned “Gamebred” (35-15) with a second-round KO in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday - used the same quip Masvidal had used after his record-breaking win over Ben Askren in 2019, when he landed a few follow-up hammer fists having clearly knocked “Funky” out cold with a flying knee.
“Those were super necessary,” Usman said in the post-fight press conference at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. “There were extra shots? The ref didn’t pull me off, so I keep going until the ref pulls me off. I had to go out there and I definitely blessed him. He pushed me to come out here to do what I did.”
The Nigerian-American is on an 18-fight win streak - 14 in the UFC - and said future opponents would need to “show me something” for him to entertain a title defence. The Masvidal rematch was a motivation because he felt he underperformed in his unanimous decision win over the Cuban-American in 2020.
“Shout-out to Masvidal. I had to bring my A-Game. He gave me that extra ‘umph’ that I needed in training,” Usman said.
Advertisement
Advertisement