UFC: Kamaru Usman ridicules Jorge Masvidal’s striking – ‘he couldn’t knock out Nate Diaz’

Jorge Masvidal may be one of the most feared strikers in MMA with the consensus of best boxing pedigree inside the UFC Octagon – but welterweight champion Kamaru Usman isn’t impressed.

“Gamebred” is set to challenge Usman in July with the fight all but officially confirmed, though “The Nigerian Nightmare” thinks Masvidal will have to step up his efforts from his UFC 244 win against Nate Diaz.

“Let’s weigh it out right now: me standing with Masvidal or me standing with Tyron Woodley, which one is a little more … yeah, Tyron Woodley more power, Tyron Woodley could touch you and put you out,” Usman – who beat Woodley to win the title last March – told a media scrum during UFC 247 fight week in Houston.

“Me standing with Masvidal … I should be worried about Masvidal? He couldn’t knock out Nate Diaz. Come on, man. This guy fought Demian Maia, what happened? Took an ‘L’. Fought Wonderboy [Stephen Thompson], took an ‘L’.

“It’s crazy to me, he has all the hype, everybody says he’s this striker, this killer. It doesn’t mater. I’m gonna do me. I’m gonna put him on his ass, beat on him until he wants to quit, and if he stands up I will knock him out if I need to.

“But everyone’s talking about striking – first of all you gotta stand upright to strike. Don’t think I’m not gonna take you down. There’s no secret to what’s gonna happen. I’m gonna take you down and beat on you until you quit.”

Masvidal appeared to get wind of Usman’s comments, poking fun at a video of the champion’s striking in a tweet on Tuesday night.

The two were involved in a heated confrontation during Super Bowl media week last month, which didn’t please UFC boss Dana White, though things remained verbal.

“Had he had the balls to actually step up and do something, we would’ve threw down right there,” Usman said. “But that would’ve looked bad for the company, as far as being invited to this event and it turning out this way.”

“I let the guy do his thing, let him continue to talk,” Usman added. “But at some point anything you say can and will be used against you inside that cage.”