Jorge Masvidal may never recover from his knockout defeat to Kamaru Usman, mentally at least.
Masvidal challenged Usman in a rematch for the welterweight title in the UFC 261 headliner in April 2021. Unlike their first encounter in 2020 that resulted in a dull unanimous decision win for Usman, Masvidal wouldn't be fighting on short notice.
Additionally, he would be fighting in front of his home fans in Miami in what was the UFC's first event with a full capacity crowd since the pandemic.
It was supposed to be Masvidal's ultimate crowning moment, but it turned out to be his worst nightmare as he not only suffered defeat to Usman, but was also emphatically knocked out cold for the first time in his career.
It was all the more embarrassing for Masvidal considering he mocked Usman for his lack of power going into the second fight.
It's been nearly two years on since that result and Masvidal is still not over the defeat.
“After that fight, maybe, I'm not going to lie — I went to a dark place for a while because I've never been knocked out,” Masvidal said on a recent appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast. “It was just f*****g nuts to me. Like bro, this guy is the one who literally knocked me out?
“… I knew in my heart of hearts this guy f*****g knocked me out. And for me to think Usman is the one who knocked me out? I never would have bet that this guy would knock me out. So it affected me, bro. Bad.”
Jorge Masvidal returned to action in March last year only to suffer a unanimous decision defeat to bitter rival Colby Covington in their grudge match.
“Gamebred” will look to end his three-fight losing streak when he faces Gilbert Burns at UFC 287 next month.
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