Masvidal: Usman, Covington had 'too much ego' to take fight to ground

Jorge Masvidal was surprised that Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington didn't even try to take their welterweight title fight to the ground at UFC 245 in December.

"They saw that they were both pretty even on the feet and wouldn't take it to their own thing because they have too much pride, too much ego," Masvidal said Thursday, according to MMA Fighting. "Maybe they get stuffed, maybe they get tired, I don't know. But that showed a lot of weakness to me."

Usman defended his belt for the first time by stopping Covington in the fifth round of the back-and-forth thriller. Both men are standout wrestlers, but it was an entirely stand-up affair.

"That spoke to me a lot, that they're not willing to have commitment like that and pull through on what got them there," Masvidal added. "They wouldn't even switch it up."

Masvidal is expected to challenge Usman for the title at the International Fight Week pay-per-view in July, but that fight is not yet official. One of the most popular fighters on the UFC roster, "Gamebred" has won three in a row, including finishes of Nate Diaz, Ben Askren, and Darren Till.