Jorge Masvidal willing to step in at UFC 245 – ‘Dana White isn’t going to like the figure’
- Masvidal needs to heal hand injuries but says he would fight in December if Colby Covington or Kamaru Usman withdraw
- ‘They’d need to whip out the chequebook like they haven’t done before’
Jorge Masvidal is willing to “be the hero” and step in if Kamaru Usman or Colby Covington pull out of their UFC 245 headliner – but only for an unprecedented payday.
“I’d be the hero they need but don’t deserve,” said Masvidal (professional MMA record 35 wins, 13 losses), who beat Nate Diaz (20-12) for the “BMF” title via doctor’s stoppage at UFC 244 on Saturday.
“They’d need to whip out the chequebook like they haven’t done before. My hands are f*****, man.”
“Usually I don’t say too much about my injuries, but I need some rehab on it,” the 34-year-old said while drinking mescal and eating pizza at the post-event press conference at Madison Square Garden.
Nigerian-American Usman (15-1) is set for his first welterweight title defence against fellow elite wrestler Covington (15-1) in Las Vegas on December 14.
“If I was to get in, especially with those crotch-sniffers, I could hit them with a knee,” Masvidal said.
Nate Diaz warns UFC, Masvidal: ‘Don’t play me’
“Dana [White, UFC president] is not going to like the figure, and neither is the UFC. I’ll put it out there: If one of these sissies gets hurt, they gotta pay me, man”.
“Gamebred” is a clear favourite for the promotion’s fighter of the year honour. He also knocked out Darren Till in devastating fashion in March, before earning the UFC’s fastest-ever knockout against Ben Askren in five seconds in July.
“If I’m having trouble sleeping, I hang out, smoke weed and pass out, eat lots of food and stuff. I don’t need to see that fight so I won’t be watching,” Masvidal said of Usman and Covington. “I got more stoppages this year than their whole careers combined. That’s just maths, you can look it up.”
Usman versus Covington had previously been expected to headline UFC 244, but negotiations with both fighters fell through before White booked Masvidal to fight Diaz.
The pair have been going back and forth since Usman leapfrogged then interim-champion Covington to successfully win the welterweight belt against Tyron Woodley.
“Are we gonna fight when that championship of sissies is done?” Masvidal added. “When the dust settles and if one of them makes the fight, because these guys are always pulling out against each other.
“It’s on my terms now. I told my manager and the UFC that I was not gonna fight any more after July … I suffered a couple of hand injuries going into [the Askren] fight – thank god that it didn’t last long.
“Then they called me with the greatest opportunity of my life. Now I wanna heal,” said Masvidal, who added that his mission is to now get the “biggest cheques possible” in the UFC.
