Jorge Masvidal claims that Gilbert Burns took the lowest amount of money possible for a UFC title bout and “Durinho” has responded.
Masvidal was initially set to receive the next crack at Kamaru Usman’s UFC welterweight gold. At one point, UFC president Dana White said the title bout was being planned for a July pay-per-view. Plans went awry when Masvidal wasn’t satisfied with the offer to fight Usman. He said it was just half the amount of money he made fighting Nate Diaz back in Nov. 2019. The title opportunity ended up going to Burns.
Masvidal Makes Claim On Burns’ Money Offer, ‘Durinho’ Responds
In a video on his YouTube channel, Masvidal made the claim that Burns was willing to take the lowest amount of money possible for a UFC title fight these days (h/t BJPenn.com).
“They offered me considerably less money than what I should be getting, and it didn’t work” Masvidal said of the stalled negotiations for his fight with Usman. “Then they offer [Burns] the least amount of money that they would take. That’s what they did. They offered me, then when I said no, they offered a couple of other people until they got to Gilbert. Gilbert wasn’t their first thing. Nobody on a worldwide scale knows him. I’m not dissing his skillset, but he’s not a known guy, so of course he took the lowest money possible to fight a title.”
Speaking to MMAFighting, Burns responded to the notion that he took the UFC’s lowest offer.
“They offered me a great amount of money,” Burns said about his deal to fight at UFC 251 when speaking to MMA Fighting. “More money than a lot of guys get fighting for the title. I’m happy for my situation. But I’m putting myself in that position to get those fights.”
Masvidal said he doesn’t have anything negative or positive to say about Usman vs. Burns. He’s simply focused on how he’s being treated under the UFC banner. “Gamebred” has made it clear that he doesn’t have to fight anymore if the UFC won’t pay him what he’s worth.
Burns will collide with Usman on July 11 in the main event of UFC 251. The action will take place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. This will be the first UFC title opportunity for Burns.
