Jorge Masvidal feels Kamaru Usman rushed the Leon Edwards rematch, should have allowed himself to heal

Jorge Masvidal's return to the octagon will come against Gilbert Burns at UFC 287. The No.11-ranked welterweight, who believes he could be next in line for a title opportunity with a victory, recently shared his thoughts on former opponent Kamaru Usman's performance at UFC 286.

During a recent appearance on episode #137 of The Joe Rogan Experience MMA Show, 'Gamebred' stated:

"Usman, maybe there were times I didn’t see him stepping on the gas like he usually does, and it might have been because he just took this fight too early. I always think when a fighter gets knocked out - I got this from the old timers in boxing - you really need to let your brain and your confidence heal and come back."

Jorge Masvidal continued:

"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 Leon just has his number it seems right now."

Check out Jorge Masvidal's comments below (starting at the :40 mark):

Masvidal revealed that he took eight out of nine months off after his knockout loss to Kamaru Usman at UFC 261. He noted that he has still not gotten over the loss as it is the only time he has been knocked out in his combat sports career.

Check out the full episode of JRE MMA Show below:

Jorge Masvidal's return: 'Gamebred' claims his 'Van Gogh' is coming against Gilbert Burns

Jorge Masvidal has on his record, the fastest and one of the most memorable knockouts in UFC history, as he needed just five seconds to knockout Ben Askren with a flying knee. Despite this, 'Gamebred' recently shared that he is planning to paint his masterpiece against Gilbert Burns at UFC 287. While speaking with MMA Junkie Radio, the No.11-ranked welterweight stated:

"I know he's good in the jiu-jitsu world, but his wrestling ain't that and I've only been focusing these last six months on making sure that I could deal with these wrestlers efficiently, get to positions efficiently, not waste as much energy. I'm going to tell you that I'm going to paint my Van Gogh on Gilbert's face with elbows, knees, kicks, takedown defense, takedown offense."

Check out Jorge Masvidal's full comments on Gilbert Burns below (starting at the 22:58 mark):

While Masvidal has not won a fight since 2019, there is speculation that he could fight for the title if he is able to defeat Burns. 'Gamebred' shares history with Leon Edwards that dates back to 2019, when he famously punched 'Rocky' backstage, claiming that he gave the welterweight champion a 'three piece and a soda'.

Check out the 2019 backstage altercation below: