UFC president says those who call the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ boring are ‘idiots’ and praises his evolution from wrestler to all-round ‘stud’
Welterweight champion Usman is only behind Georges St-Pierre for unbeaten UFC record as White recommends Covington rematch to ‘cement his legacy’
By Andrew McNicol
UFC president Dana White has called welterweight champion Kamaru Usman “one of the best ever” after his stunning second-round KO against Jorge Masvidal.
The 33-year-old Usman (19-1) was booed by most of the Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena crowd in Masvidal’s (35-15) home state of Florida, but seemingly won some fans over after yet another dominant title defence in Saturday night’s rematch.
“I think we can all agree, no matter how you feel [about him],” White said in the UFC 261 post-fight press conference.
The win over Cuban-American “BMF” Masvidal puts “The Nigerian Nightmare” on an 18-fight win-streak in his pro career, and within reach of the legendary middleweight Anderson Silva’s record UFC win streak of 16.
“The guy was getting booed tonight, but he’s one of the best ever and he’s on his way to probably being the greatest of all time,” White added. “The guy is an absolute stud and he looks better every time he comes out.
“These people calling him boring – you’re an idiot if you think this guy is boring. He hasn’t been in a boring fight for a while … he’s been a different human being ever since the [Rafael dos Anjos] fight [in 2018].”
Nigerian-American Usman has finished his last three fights, including a third-round TKO win against former teammate Gilbert Burns in February and a fifth-round TKO of former interim champion Colby Covington in December 2019.
He beat “Gamebred” Masvidal via unanimous decision last July, but justified giving Masvidal a rematch given the 36-year-old had stepped in to that fight on six days’ notice.
“If you look at him in his early career, he was one of those wrestlers who would take you down and push you to the fence and grind you. He’s a completely evolved fighter and is standing and knocking out Jorge Masvidal,” White said, adding that a Covington rematch “is the fight to make” and would help “cement that legacy that guy’s going to end up having some day”.
“The fight with him and Colby Covington is one of the greatest fights I’ve ever seen. Those two going toe-to-toe, Colby went down with a broken jaw. He’s not afraid to trade with everybody and if he has to wrestle he wrestles.
“He’s become an unbelievably well-rounded fighter. One of the greatest every and on his way to possibly being the best ever.”
Originally published at https://www.scmp.com