Jorge Masvidal still has to cut some serious weight before he takes on Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title in the new UFC 251 main event.
Following original challenger Gilbert Burns testing positive for COVID-19, the BMF champion has taken the fight on incredibly short notice after successful negotiations and penning a new contract with UFC.
Masvidal hasn't fought since his incredible victory over Nate Diaz at UFC 244 in November and though he's in fighting shape, he has revealed he needs to shed 20 pounds before Friday's weigh-in on 'Fight Island'.
Appearing on ESPN First Take with Stephen A. Smith and Domonique Foxworth, Masvidal said: "Yeah I got 20 pounds to go. I'm taking the fight on 6 days notice."
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The 35-year old has been no stranger to intense weight-cuts and confirmed he must get down to 170lbs in a extremely short window - which perplexed host Smith, who asked him: "You gotta lose 20 pounds in 6 days?"
'Gamebred' responded: "Yes sir when they made the fight official I was 191 pounds. So Friday, I gotta lose that weight."
If Masvidal manages to dethrone the dominant Usman in Abu Dhabi then it will be a quite phenomenal achievement. Should he be victorious, he wants to give former opponent Diaz a shot at the title after the unfortunate doctor stoppage that ended their main event fight.
Talking to ESPN, Masvidal said: "I always said Nate's a bad mother******, man...There's two guys on my radar and Nate is definitely one of them because, no matter what, it was a good fight. Me or the world didn't get the result we wanted and I know Nate wants to run it back.
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"Speaking from the heart, I want to run it back so when I get this title, would anything be better than giving him the opportunity he gave me to fight for his BMF belt?"
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Topics: Jorge Masvidal, MMA News, UFC 251, UFC, MMA, Kamaru Usman
