Jorge Masvidal REVEALS making $5 million to fight Kamaru Usman on short notice

Jorge Masvidal is one of the most popular fighters in MMA. He recently disclosed he pocketed the biggest payday of his career in his short-notice rematch against Kamaru Usman at UFC 261. The massive payday came despite Masvidal’s unanimous decision loss to the reigning welterweight champion. 

Masvidal was recently interviewed on DjVlad YT. He came on as a late replacement when Kamaru Usman‘s original opponent, Gilbert Burns, was forced out of their UFC 251 pay-per-view headliner. Masvidal revealed that he made a whopping $5 million in this fight.

6 days before the fight, the other route that the UFC went with catches Corona. So they called me. They need somebody to fight on 6 days notice, fly across the world, and cut 20 pounds… They gave in to all my demands… Yeah, that is one of the fights that I made $5 million.

Jorge Masvidal via DjVlad YT

Jorge Masvidal took the champion to the scorecards at UFC 251. The lack of a proper training camp and the tough weight-cutting process did not help Masvidal. In the rematch, Masvidal had more time to train. As such, he remained confident that he would win the title but was knocked out by Usman in the second round.

The UFC’s cap-tipping $5 million offer became the biggest payday of Masvidal’s career. Masvidal’s last-minute entry to save the headliner definitely was monetarily worth it for him. Since then, he has retired from MMA and is now set to fight Nate Diaz in a boxing match.

Jorge Masvidal believes that Kamaru Usman came back too soon after the KO loss

Kamaru Usman lost a majority decision to Leon Edwards at UFC 286. Former rival Jorge Masvidal thought the ex-champion may have returned to action too hastily following his knockout defeat. This came after Edwards delivered one of the most dramatic comebacks in UFC history in August of 2022. He recovered from a sizable deficit to knock Usman out cold with a head kick in the final minute of their welterweight title fight. 

Usman ran it back with “Rocky” in a bid to reclaim his 170-pound strap just six months later. Usman appeared to struggle with consistently imposing his offense in the rematch. This performance left Masvidal wondering if the knockout loss was still weighing on the “Nigerian Nightmare’s” mind. Masvidal knew the skill Usman possessed. However, he was unsure if Usman was second-guessing himself.

I always think when a fighter gets knocked out, you really need to let your brain and your confidence heal and come back. Because then you get back in there and you get touched and you’re like, ‘Whoa, I might get knocked out,’ and you pull the brakes and you start maybe second-guessing yourself. So I think maybe he took it a little bit too early. I do think he’s in a way a better fighter than Leon in a lot of aspects, but it just seems that Leon has his number right now.

Jorge Masvidal via The MMA Hour

The outspoken “Gamebred” himself was finished brutally by the champ at UFC 261. Masvidal said he didn’t make his octagon return for almost a year following his ill-fated Usman rematch. This was to get his brain fully healed and his confidence back to win against any challenge.

In case you missed it:

• “Don’t tell anybody,” Colby Covington reveals getting VACCINE exemption in New York to fight Kamaru Usman
• “No need to make Makhachev invincible superhero!” Arman Tsarukyan shuts down Islam Makhachev’s hype and refuses to train ‘special’ for rematch

Stay Updated!

Join our newsletter to receive exclusive updates and curated insights directly to your inbox.

Subscribe NOW