Jorge Masvidal says there “was a deal on the table” to fight Kamaru Usman at UFC 249

Jorge Masvidal says there was a deal on the table for him to fight Kamaru Usman at UFC 249.

Masvidal and Usman have been going back-and-forth at one another for months now. The two were expected to fight at International Fight Week in July but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they nearly fought at UFC 249.

When the Las Vegas-based promotion was creating a new card, “Gamebred” reveals he was offered a title fight against Usman. But, he says the money wasn’t right for him to accept.

“There was a deal on the table, but when the full deal and the whole extent of it got brought through and how it was going to play out, the budget really wasn’t there in a way for what we were asking. The price tag that I put out there, they didn’t wanna pay. This other guy, who knows if he was in or not, but my price wasn’t met,” Jorge Masvidal said to BT Sport. “And for the risk-to-reward factor, I wanted to get compensated and the compensation wasn’t really there. We weren’t too far off either, we can make it work in the future for a fact. I think in July, I’ll be beheading this guy for the whole world to see.”

UFC 249 ended up being postponed after the higher-ups at Disney told Dana White to pull the plug. It still is possible Masvidal fights Usman in July but no one truly knows when fights will be able to happen despite White saying Fight Island will happen in a month.

Regardless, the rivalry between Jorge Masvidal and Kamaru Usman appears to be far from finished.

Who do you think would’ve won between Jorge Masvidal and Kamaru Usman if they fought at UFC 249? Sound off in the comment section, PENN Nation!

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 4/10/2020.