Kamaru Usman isn’t having Nate Diaz’s criticism of the UFC 251 welterweight headliner against Gilbert Burns.
It was announced on Tuesday that Usman vs. Burns will be among a trio of title fights to headline the UFC 251 pay-per-view event at ‘Fight Island’, which was confirmed by the promotion as being held at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island.
Shortly after the announcement, and in an apparent reference to the failure of the UFC to book Usman against presumptive number one contender Jorge Masvidal, Diaz issued a statement on Twitter in which he said that it “wasn’t a title fight”, appearing to claim that Usman should have demanded the fight with Masvidal instead of accepting the offer of a fight against Burns.
However, Usman had a very definitive riposte.
Let’s state some facts here:
“Your Bum Ass”
•L’s in last (5 of 9) in 8year span
•12 L’s Total
•1-1 in last 4 years
•Refused to fight Woodley when offered title shot.“Said Guy”
•13 L’s Total
•L to Damian Maia
Who was KO’d by Burns In rd 1.
•embarrassed ur Bum Ass https://t.co/u4UnI23QGi— KAMARU USMAN (@USMAN84kg) June 9, 2020
As also noted by Usman, Burns is currently listed as the top contender in the welterweight division following his unanimous decision win against Tyron Woodley last month, as well as following on from a first round finish of Demian Maia in March.
Masvidal, meanwhile, hasn’t fought since winning by TKO (cut) against Nate Diaz in New York last November. He had been considered by most as the next challenger to Usman but a pay spat with the UFC appears to have shelved those plans, for now at least.
‘Gamebred’ took part in an interview with ESPN last week in which he told the sports news organisation that the UFC should release him if they don’t intend to pay him what he feels he is worth.
