Jorge Masvidal was paid quite well to step up and fight Kamaru Usman at UFC 251 in 2020.
That card was initially expected to be headlined by Kamaru Usman vs. Gilbert Burns in July. However, a week before the event, ‘Durinho’ tested positive for Covid-19, and was pulled from the Fight Island event. As a result, Jorge Masvidal got the call to step up on short notice fresh off his stoppage victory over Nate Diaz to win ‘BMF’ gold months prior.
Ultimately, Jorge Masvidal wound up suffering a unanimous decision defeat to Kamaru Usman in their first fight. They rematched a year later, and ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ again emerged with a win. While Masvidal came up short in his two bids for UFC gold, the Miami native was very, very well-paid for the attempts.
Speaking in a recent interview with VladTV, Jorge Masvidal opened up on his highest career paydays. There, ‘Gamebred’ got in-depth about his negotiations with the UFC to accept a fight with Kamaru Usman on such short notice. Due to that notice, Masvidal played hardball with the company to get a better contract.
Jorge Masvidal reveals $5 million payday for fighting Kamaru Usman at UFC 251
Those discussions led Jorge Masvidal to receive a $5 million purse for fighting Kamaru Usman on Fight Island. While he came up short in his bid for UFC gold, the welterweight was pretty happy with his pay for that 2020 defeat.
“The UFC called me and needed someone to fill in on six days’ notice and fly across the world and cut 20 pounds of water in these six days and fight for a world title. There was only one motherf*cker in the whole world who could get that call for the bat signal. It’s that dude right here.” Jorge Masvidal stated in the interview. “But, I had to get paid, and I had to get paid very f*cking handsomely to do this. They gave into all the demands I had.”
He continued, “That’s one of the fights that I made the most money period. We ended up selling right under 1.3 million pay-per-views. If I didn’t strike that deal with the UFC, I would’ve gotten nowhere near five million. I would’ve sold the same amount, and gotten nowhere near five million. I would’ve just felt that I had gotten taken advantage of. So part of me, the business side and prizefighting [side] was very, very much satisfied and happy for my kids, myself, and my family.”
“But, the guy that always wanted that world title,” Jorge Masvidal concluded. “Wasn’t [happy], you know?”
What do you make of these comments from the former UFC title challenger? What do you remember of Jorge Masvidal’s rivalry with Kamaru Usman?
