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Reigning UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman wanted to be the savior for UFC, Dana White and fight fans around the globe by stepping up on short notice to defend his title against Jorge Masvidal but it takes two to tango and according to Usman, Masvidal wants nothing to do with him.
The main event of UFC 249, scheduled to go down on April 18 in an undisclosed location is in jeopardy after lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov officially announced his withdrawal from the pay-per-view due to an ongoing travel ban in his native Russia. Since the announcement, several fighters have offered to step up and fill in the main event slot, including both Masvidal and Usman.
Usman recently took to Instagram to reveal that he spoke to UFC President Dana White about a potential fight against Masvidal in the main event of the April 18 PPV.
“I did what I needed to do. I called Dana White and I said ‘Dana, you know what, I want to save that event, I want Masvidal.’ Word for word. I swore on everything. Texted Dana, said I want Masvidal, I’m going to save this event.”
According to Usman, UFC got back to his manager Ali Abdelaziz saying that they couldn't contact Masvidal. Usman said he had already begun the process of cutting weight and even though his opponent was nowhere to be found, 'The Nigerian Nightmare' was willing to wait to see if Masvidal responded.
“24 hours go by and they say well he doesn’t need to fight, doesn’t want to fight. He hasn’t really been training, that he’s not going to take the fight. He’s been drinking too much of that drink of his that he’s drinking. He’s too fat. He can’t fight.”
Masvidal initially offered to step in for Nurmagomedov by tweeting - "April 18 I'm free." but Usman says that 'Gamebred' doesn't really want to fight, he just wanted some attention.
“Today, the news breaks, the first thing these guys do, jump on Twitter, try to clout chase, try to get fans on their side ‘oh I’m free April 18.’ No, you’re not free. If you’re free, call Dana White right now."
Usman further mentioned that he wanted to fight Masvidal so badly because he wanted ti hear him "squeal like a pig" in an empty arena. Needless to say, the bad blood between this pair keeps boiling and it remains to be seen whether it spills over in the near future and lead to a massive clash inside the Octagon.
“We don’t need the crowd. We don’t need anybody. You know why guys? Because I want you guys to hear what I’m going to say in there to him. I want you guys to hear every blow. I want you guys to hear once I take him down, every punch, every elbow, every ground and pound strike I throw. I wanted you guys to hear him squeal like a pig, like the little b*tch that he is.”
