Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson talked to ESPN about UFC 251, which will take place this Saturday. He talked about his close relationship with Jorge Masvidal, who “The Rock” crowned the BMF Champion after he defeated Nate Diaz, and his respect for champion Kamaru Usman.
Check out highlights below:
His thoughts on Jorge Masvidal:
You know, Jorge’s my boy. I got a lot of love and respect for Jorge. I liked him a lot, I like his team a lot. I thought going into that fight, the BMF title fight, there were unique circumstances going into it. The belt was created by the company and they put this fight together between these two BMFs – Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal – and I thought he handled the promotion of that fight brilliantly. He went out and fought a brilliant fight … I really enjoyed my time with him.
On the legend of Jorge Masvidal:
The legend of Jorge Masvidal is very real in Miami. He started street fighting then honed his skills. He’s been around a long time, been in a lot of rodeos. I think something really interesting happened and the fans felt this too, the company felt this and everyone around Jorge felt this, when someone makes a distinct decision, the world views me one way. I want them to view me and interpret me in a different way. There’s a few things that had to happen. Mentally he changed, his energetic shift changed and physically it all changed. It all came together. The timing of it, and timing is everything … It came together great for this new iteration of Jorge Masvidal.
What he thinks of Kamaru Usman:
The guy’s a beast. He’s an animal. I’ve gotten to know him a bit through text messages. I’ve always been a big fan of his. Obviously he’s decorated he comes from the world of amateur wrestling. This guy’s a beast, national champion, amateur All American. He’s always in great shape. He looks like a champion. I have nothing but great things to say about him.
