Jorge Masvidal praises Kamaru Usman’s ‘beautiful’ knockout victory in pair’s UFC 261 clash

‘Gamebred’ came up short against the welterweight champion again, losing via second-round KO

Kamaru Usman (left) knocked out Jorge Masvidal in the main event of UFC 261 (Getty Images)

Jorge Masvidal has praised Kamaru Usman for the welterweight champion’s “beautiful” knockout victory over him at UFC 261.

The rivals’ rematch headlined the card inside a full-capacity arena in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday, with Usman once again retaining his title against ‘Gamebred’.

Nine months after outpointing his challenger, Usman knocked Masvidal out cold in the second round, and the 36-year-old has now given the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ full credit for his performance.

“I thought he was going in for a shot [takedown] and by the time I realised it wasn’t a shot, it was too late,” Masvidal told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani.

“I read the information wrong. He sold it to me beautifully.

“Of that moment, I am a fan, because I love this sport so much. It was a beautiful technique.”

As well as praising Usman, Masvidal effectively admitted that the bad blood from the rematch’s build-up had dried.

The Florida native also said he will certainly compete again before the year is up.

“I’ll definitely fight again this year, I have to,” Masvidal said.

“I wanted to compete a lot. If I can at least get one [more] fight this year, I’ll be happy. If I can get two, which is doubtful, that would be cool.”