UFC 249 was a go for a few days. They had a venue, a card, and it was set to go forward on pay-per-view. Eventually the greater good was served and the event was shut down due COVID-19 concerns. But one of the bouts the UFC did try to add to the card originally was apparently a UFC welterweight title fight between champion Kamaru Usman and challenger Jorge Masvidal.
Masvidal was interviewed by BT Sport on the subject, and Gamebred revealed that he was indeed offered the fight. But one thing got in the way - money.
“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. And for the risk-to-reward factor, I wanted to get compensated and the compensation wasn’t really there.”
He was optimistic that the fight would get booked in the future though:
“We weren’t too far off either, we can make it work in the future for a fact,” Masvidal said. “I think in July, I’ll be beheading this guy for the whole world to see.”
July might be a lofty goal considering the uncertainty of the whole coronavirus situation right now. But it seems that the holder of the BMF belt will be the next fighter in like for Usman - at some point.