Nigeria’s Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman has sent words of gratitude to his latest victim, Jorge Masvidal for giving him something to worry about before their title bout on Saturday night in Florida, USA.
Megasportsarena.com reports that, although ’The Nigerian Nightmare’ won the fight with a second round knockout in his rematch with Masvidal on Saturday night, he confessed that his opponent made him nervous for the first time in his UFC career.
The champ had also dominated his fight the first time he faced Jorge Masvidal, but he was not fully satisfied because there were so many unanswered questions left, especially as his foe had taken that fight on six days’ notice and needed to cut 20 pounds to make weight.
That seemed to take something off Usman’s one-sided victory back then and, though Saturday’s rematch in the main event of UFC 261 in Jacksonville, Florida, USA was just as one-sided, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ felt much better this time, because he left no doubts about his quality.
He became the first man to knock out Masvidal when he connected with a perfectly thrown straight right hand. He dropped Masvidal hard and finished him with three hammer fists on the ground, forcing referee Herb Dean to stop it at 1:02 of the second.
The crowd at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena was heavily pro-Masvidal, and booed the champ, who has now won his last seven fights – versus Demian Maia, Rafael dos Anjos, Tyron Woodley, Colby Covington, Gilbert Burns and Masvidal twice – as he made his ring walk.
The crowd was silenced, yet there was no controversy, no complaints from Masvidal’s side and nothing but respect for a man who is quickly on his way to becoming the greatest welterweight in UFC history, which is considered a big feat at par with what Georges St-Pierre accomplished.
Famed for his powerful wrestling, 33-year old Usman came into the main event on Masvidal’s home turf on a 17-fight winning streak, and he won the first round comfortably before bringing the fight to a sudden halt in the second.
He uncorked a thunderous right hand a minute into the second frame to deck Masvidal, who looked out before he hit the canvas, silencing the boisterous home crowd and extending the longest winning streak among active fighters in the UFC.
‘The Nigerian Nightmare,’ who had his daughter in his arms and family at his side post-fight in The Octagon, sounded humble and polite after he defended his welterweight title in devastating fashion by flooring Masvidal at UFC 261.
Usman stated: “No disrespect for my partner, he really stretched me all the way. He gave me something to bother about, and I am grateful for that. It’s been a long time since I got someone that made me so nervous about a fight.
“I thank him for that. He also helped me to see what I can do. I’ve said it before that I on the way up. I told everybody I’m still getting better. I keep on improving and I keep getting better. The sky is the limit for me as I keep on doing this nd there is still more to come.
“Been a while since I’ve been extremely nervous for a fight. But he elevated me. He made me go to the workshop and sharpen all my tools to put on a performance like that. I am the pound-for-pound best fighter on the planet right now.”
