UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier says that Jorge Masvidal was in the gym training every day just in case the Kamaru Usman fight became available.<\/p>\n
Masvidal was set to fight Usman for the UFC welterweight championship in the main event of UFC 251 but the promotion had difficulties coming together on the financials and eventually gave the title shot to Gilbert Burns. But after Burns tested positive for COVID-19, the UFC and Masvidal made a last-minute move to strike a deal, and the UFC now has a megafight between Usman and Masvidal headlining this weekend’s pay-per-view event.<\/p>\n
Although Masvidal is one of the most popular fighters in the welterweight division, the oddsmakers and not high on him in this matchup as he opened as a big underdog<\/a>. One of the reasons that’s the case is because of the short notice factor going against Masvidal. As good of a fighter as he is, it’s rare for someone to come in on short notice and dethrone a dominant champion like Usman, leading to Masvidal being the underdog for this fight.<\/p>\n However, while some think that Masvidal may not have been training for this fight, that’s simply not the case. According to Poirier, who is Masvidal’s training partner at American Top Team, “Gamebred” had a feeling this whole time that he might have to step in on short notice and was still training for Usman this whole time. Check out what Poirier said on the Teddy Atlas podcast<\/a> about Masvidal’s training camp.<\/p>\n Dustin Poirier on Jorge Masvidal:<\/p>\n "He's in fight shape, I know that much. This isn't a guy coming off the couch. This is a guy who was preparing to fight Usman and [when] the fight fell through he kept training."<\/p>\n (via @DustinPoirier<\/a>, @TeddyAtlasReal<\/a>) #UFC251<\/a> #UFCFightIsland<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/Jyu46SM5D3<\/a><\/p>\n — Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) July 8, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n