Jorge Masvidal reveals why he now prefers Kamaru Usman rematch over 'Money fights' against Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz

In 2019, Jorge Masvidal made it clear that securing a big paycheque was his number one priority. That's why he didn't need to think twice when Nate Diaz called him out and that's also why he was chasing a Conor McGregor fight.

However, in that time, he had the best year of his career, getting three significant finishes against big names in Darren Till, Ben Askren, and Nate Diaz. The latter two would shoot his popularity levels up and as proven by UFC 251's PPV buy rate, he's now one of the undisputed top 3-4 stars in the UFC.

He spoke to Ariel Helwani of ESPN, who asked him what he would prefer for his next fight. From the look of things, the loss to Kamaru Usman has lit a fire under Jorge Masvidal as he now prefers a rematch against The Nigerian Nightmare over big money fights against Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz. Jorge Masvidal told Helwani that an immediate rematch against Usman is a 'no-brainer' (H/T MMAFighting):

“Usman. Could they offer me bigger names and pay me more money? Yes. For a fact. But if it’s up to me, Usman. For me stepping up on six days’ notice when nobody else would. Cause a lot of people are saying they would, but who else did it? Who else really actually asked [UFC President] Dana [White]? Who else was actually like, ‘Hey, if Masvidal doesn’t do it, I will do it, I’m right here, I’m ready to go, let’s do it.’

Jorge Masvidal said that he's stubborn and declared that he won't end his career without the belt around his waist. He cited his 'stubbornness' as a reason for wanting the Usman rematch:

“You could tell me that McGregor right now would make X, Y, Z dollars, the biggest pay-per-view event in history right, and I’m going to get paid forever,” Masvidal explained. “I feel like I got compensated well enough now, that I keep making the right decisions that I’ve been doing, then this money is forever money. So it’s not about money. It’s about I want that damn belt and I’m stubborn. I know I’m better than Usman and I want to prove it. I want to fight again. I’m not going to take nothing from him. He won the first one. Let’s do it again. That’s it.

Jorge Masvidal knows why he has leverage for a Kamaru Usman rematch

Jorge Masvidal knows why Kamaru Usman wouldn't hesitate to take a rematch - because of the money he made. Jorge Masvidal stated that it's the most money Usman has made because the PPV sales itself were over four times what UFC 245 did in his main event against Colby Covington.

Jorge Masvidal isn't sure about the timeline of his next fight, but won't hesitate to fight again in 2020 if it's against Kamaru Usman.