Before Super Bowl altercation, Jorge Masvidal sent warning to Kamaru Usman: ‘I’m going to embarrass you’

Before getting into a verbal altercation at Super Bowl media day on Wednesday in Miami, Jorge Masvidal sent a message to reigning 170-pound champion Kamaru Usman.

“He said it in an interview, he gets amped up, (and) he gets very excited when guys talk trash,” Masvidal said during an appearance on the Jim Rome show, which was taping live at the gathering. “This is directly for Usman — I’m going to embarrass you from start to finish. I’m going to say it now so when it gets replayed 10 years from now, I’ll tell you I told you so. I’m going to embarrass you.

“Whether it’s on national TV or if I see you right now here today, wherever I see you, I’m going to embarrass you for the words that you have said.”

Masvidal looked directly into the camera during the last part of his declaration. And moments later, the two were being separated by UFC PR officials and Masvidal’s management.

The confrontation on Wednesday came after a series of back-and-forth interviews where each fighter has made derogatory comments toward the other. Usman has refused to acknowledge Masvidal, and Masvidal has accused the champ of picking opponents for the easiest path.

On Wednesday, Masvidal doubled down on that opinion, saying Usman could’ve helped settle the beef six weeks ago after his TKO win over Colby Covington in the UFC 245 main event.

“He got asked, he could have cut one of the best promos ever if he could actually talk,” Masvidal said. “He got asked after his fight with the guy he broke his jaw [Colby Covington], ‘Hey, what do you think about Masvidal?’ And I’m the ‘Fighter of the Year’ — and that only gets handed out to one individual out of thousands of amazing athletes. I got that award, ‘Fighter of the Year,’ and I’m in his weight class, and when they asked him (about) ‘Jorge Masvidal,’ he said, ‘Who? No, I don’t know who that is, but I want to fight the guy that’s under him,’ that he already beat.

“It’s like Usman’s not really a fighter – he’s more like a politician. Cause he’s telling people he wants to fight, but what he’s saying, what he’s showing? We’re going to go into negotiations and see what happens.”