If UFC president Dana White has his way, a welterweight title grudge match will be booked for International Fight Week.
Appearing on Friday’s edition of “The Jim Rome Show,” White said the UFC’s plan is to hold a fight featuring the fast-heating grudge between UFC welterweight champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] and “BMF” champ [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] at the promotion’s annual International Fight Week event this summer in Las Vegas.
Usman (16-1 MMA, 11-0 UFC) and Masvidal (35-13 MMA, 11-4 UFC) got into a near-altercation this week on Radio Row at the Super Bowl, which is being held this year in Masvidal’s hometown of Miami. White, in talking about Masvidal’s surging popularity, particularly at home, noted that a bout with Usman is probably next.
“We haven’t had a fighter from Miami to embrace yet,” White said. “Since I got here, I went to dinner last night, I’ve been walking around – everybody’s yelling, ‘When’s Masvidal fighting in Miami?’ Not soon. We’re going to bring him to Vegas. Him and Usman will fight in Vegas, probably International Fight Week (in July). If he wins, maybe we’ll do his first title defense down here in Miami.”
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The verbal joust between the duo prompted White to publicly state his intentions for the fight now, rather than wait until it was finalized.
“That was the plan, and whatever happened with them (Wednesday) – we hadn’t announced it yet, but now this has forced me to announce it,” White said.
International Fight Week is traditionally one of the biggest events of the year. While no date or location has been announced, it’s likely to be UFC 252 on July 11 at T-Mobile Arena, the home of all major UFC events in “Sin City” since 2016.
White went on to explain that while Masvidal has been around forever, his star recently has exploded, aided in large part by wins over Ben Askren and Nate Diaz.
That Masvidal’s authenticity shines through helps, too, says White.
“People love (Masvidal),” White said. “He’s authentic. He’s real. He’s hardcore. The stuff that went down with Usman, the stuff that went down with (Leon) Edwards – that’s the kind of guy he is. That’s how him and (Nate) Diaz ended up fighting for the ‘BMF’ belt. He’s legit, he’s real, and people feel it, and people like it.”
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