We are less than 24 hours away and a negative COVID-19 test from one of the most anticipated fights of 2020 as Jorge Masvidal takes on Kamaru Usman for the UFC welterweight title.
Masvidal is the underdog taking this fight on short notice but the line as an underdog has shrunk this past week. Gamebred is on a hot streak as he’s on a 3 fight win streak and the owner of the “symbolic BMF title.” Despite the need to shed 20 pounds this week to make weight, Masvidal made it without too much drama.
Usman is undefeated in the UFC having stopped Colby Covington in a hard-hitting fight this past December.
The fight comes down to strategy. Will Usman use his superior wrestling to negate the destructive hands of Masvidal. On his own admission, Masvidal stated that he was not in the same shape as he was when he prepared to deal with wrestler Ben Askren last year. However, he believed he had enough to take care of Usman.
Is Masvidal underestimating the champion?
Certainly, Usman has the superior grappling skills yet he decided not to use them in his first title defense against Covington. According to the stats by the UFC, there were no takedowns attempted by the champion as the fight was exclusively on the feet. If Usman is to win here, expect a different strategy. He should take Masvidal down and see if his takedown defense can standup to the collegiate wrestling standout.
If this is the case, expect a long night for the short-notice challenger.
Obviously, Usman could stand and trade with the challenger but that would seem to fall in the favor of Masvidal.
I would go with the -260 favorite right now despite Masvidal having an attractive +210 next to him. But, if Usman goes with the winning game plan of muting his standup by taking him down and wrestling him, you can see him winning via unanimous decision.
Leave a Reply