The UFC has managed to book one of its greatest late-replacement matchups of all time with Jorge Masvidal stepping in against Kamaru Usman in the UFC 251 main event Saturday. After Gilbert Burns tested positive for COVID-19, the promotion managed to resolve its contract dispute with Masvidal and make the welterweight championship fight with Usman happen.
Was it a smart move for “Gamebred” to accept the fight on just six days’ notice, though? MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn, Farah Hannoun and Simon Head debate in the latest edition of Triple Take.
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Mike Bohn: The reward outweighs the risk
The upside for Masvidal here is stupendous, and if he wins he becomes an instant legend.
Even if I tried to search for an argument of why this might not be a good idea for Masvidal, there isn’t a strong one to be found.
The best you could come up with is that if Masvidal goes in there on Saturday and gets finished quickly, or gets washed out by Usman for five rounds, it would kill a lot of his potential prospects going forward. He’d still be a big name and attraction for the UFC, but everything he made for himself with that unreal 2019 campaign would be deteriorated. That’s the worst-case scenario.
If Masvidal loses this fight any other way – be it a competitive bout in which he’s eventually stopped or a thrilling five-rounder in which he falls short on the scorecards – he should be just fine. The fact he took this on six days’ notice, with a good chunk of that time consisting of travel and mandatory quarantines, against an opponent who has been training months for this specific date, gives him something of a built-in excuse if things go awry.
Yes, Masvidal is betting big on himself here. It took him 17 years in the sport to finally fight for a UFC belt and if it goes poorly, another chance may never come around. He seems to have negotiated a solid payday to take this fight, though, and he’s made it clear securing his family’s future is his No. 1 priority over anything else. If taking this opportunity helped him make that happen, then win or lose, he made the right choice.
Next page – Farah Hannoun: They don’t call him ‘Gamebred’ for nothing
Farah Hannoun: They don’t call him ‘Gamebred’ for nothing
It’s crazy how it’s taken more than seven years for Jorge Masvidal to earn his first UFC title shot.
Masvidal, who had an incredible 2019, is in peak form and there’s no better time for him to challenge for the title. Although six days’ notice and having to travel halfway across the world is far from ideal, no one deserves to be standing across Kamaru Usman on Saturday more than he does.
I’d like to think they sweetened the pot for him a little bit, otherwise what was the point of holding out in the first place, right? But the point is, Masvidal is the rightful challenger. Had he taken another fight instead, he may have jeopardized a title opportunity that could never surface again.
It’s not like Masvidal has been snacking on the couch. Throughout the entire COVID-19 pandemic, his longtime boxing coach Paulino Hernandez has been living with him and Masvidal has been able to get some work in.
He was also able to access American Top Team as soon as it opened, training on the mats with the likes of Dustin Poirier, as well as three-time NCAA Division-I champ Bo Nickal, who was likely brought for Masvidal to prepare for Usman’s wrestling.
Point is, Masvidal has been mentally ready to fight Usman for a while now. Probably not on six days’ notice, but he did slide into a headliner spot on about two weeks’ notice in 2015 to face Benson Henderson and went all five rounds effortlessly.
A full camp would certainly help, but Masvidal vs. Usman is one of the most anticipated fights of the year and suddenly UFC 251 has become that much more exciting.
Next page – Simon Head: You’ve got to strike while the iron is hot
Simon Head: You’ve got to strike while the iron is hot
There are many ways to look at Jorge Masvidal’s decision to step in on a week’s notice to face Kamaru Usman at UFC 251, but ultimately the decision comes down to one thing: Masvidal’s desire to be a UFC champion.
Masvidal was in a relatively rare position of being able to still land a big-time, big-money fight, even if he didn’t opt to face Usman next. A rematch with Nate Diaz is sitting there waiting to be booked, while a fight with Conor McGregor might just be the biggest fight the UFC could book, in any weight class. There is even the backup option of a possible grudge match with Leon Edwards, recipient of the infamous “three-piece and a soda” that helped kickstart Masvidal’s recent surge to stardom.
Given that those options are all feasible, Masvidal certainly didn’t need to step in and take a title shot on short notice. But the fact that he has shows that “Gamebred” wants to grab his title opportunity while it’s staring him in the face. In short, if you want a UFC title, you have to be ready to strike while the iron is hot.
Had Masvidal bided his time and waited for a full-camp opportunity, someone else could potentially have stepped in and defeated Usman, or pushed him to the very limit. In that scenario, a rematch would be likely. If that one sees a reversal of the first result, there would almost certainly be a call for a trilogy fight.
Meanwhile, Masvidal would have to sit tight and wait for the chips to fall in his favor. He’d likely have to take alternative fights himself, too. And while the likes of Diaz, McGregor and Edwards the most bankable options, none of them are gimme fights, either. One slip up – or one long-term injury – could see Masvidal’s title hopes evaporate.
There are no guarantees in this sport, so when the big chance comes, more often than not it makes sense to take it. For Masvidal, who has been training throughout the lockdown to stay ready for his next assignment, his time is now. Taking the short-notice title fight is the smart play. Now he needs to go out there and win it. If he does, the MMA world is his oyster.
