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Jorge Masvidal has had a career resurgence in 2019 and is considered the fighter of the year following three incredible victories over Darren Till, Ben Askren, and Nate Diaz. Many believe that he's the clear-cut contender for a Welterweight Championship opportunity after December, but UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman isn't that impressed with the veteran fighter.
Speaking to MMA Fighting, he said that he wasn't that impressed:
“Because it’s Masvidal, nothing’s changed. He’s the same guy. He’s fought the same way forever. It’s just the luck of the draw. He’s getting that luck of the draw."
Usman reminded fans that Darren Till dropped him and had he not got the KO and the flying knee against Askren, there would be a lot of questions as to how the fights would have played out.
“I’ve yet to see him fight a full-on welterweight from start to finish and completely dominate them,” Usman said about Masvidal “Then at that point I can say this is a different guy. But I think right now he’s riding the wave, and he’s got the luck of the draw on his side."
Usman said that Masvidal is "riding that hype" right now and it had a lot to do with his last fight, where Ben Askren ran his mouth and riled people up and created a lot of hype. But because of the way Masvidal finished him, he essentially took all of Askren's hype with him. Had he lost to Askren, Usman believes that guys like Masvidal would be forgotten about.
He even believes that Colby Covington, who has trained with Masvidal extensively, could give the BMF Champion a tough time. With that said, Usman still expressed his interest in facing Masvidal.
“But at the end of the day, does it really matter that you have all that hype if you never get to the pinnacle of the sport? I like the fact that that he has all this hype. It brings a lot of eyes. So if he does make it to me and that fight is made, I would actually be very, very interested in that.”
Jorge Masvidal will have to wait till some point in 2020 and if he chooses to sit out, he will be all but guaranteed to get a title shot.
