What's new at Ludus Martial Arts

We’re so proud of our team! Find out how they’ve been doing, as well as what else has been going on at our gym lately.

Jorge Masvidal believes ‘weak-minded’ Kamaru Usman makes perfect short-notice foe

Jorge Masvidal is not going to insult anyone’s intelligence and pretend as if flying halfway around the world to accept a fight with UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman on six days’ notice is the ideal way to prepare for the biggest bout of your life.

“Six days’ notice, how prepared could I be, you know?” Masvidal said during a UFC 251 virtual media day from Abu Dhabi on Thursday. “I’m as prepared as I need to be for Usman, but obviously it’s not a full training camp as if I had six weeks to prepare. I’d be different, my weight wouldn’t be this high. So I’m not going to say weight-wise I’m 100 percent. But everything else, my mind is ready, my heart is ready, my skill set is better than his any day of the week, so I just gotta go out and prove it.”

But then, this is far from the first rodeo for Masvidal (35-13 MMA, 12-6 UFC) with short-notice fights. The Miami-based competitor started out taking underground backyard scraps, then graduated to competing in just about every promotional banner under the sun over the course of a career which now has 45 officially sanctioned fights and counting.

Taking a fight on short notice is just another day at the office.

“The reason I’m here is, I’ve taken more opportunities like this in the past, I just didn’t get credit or whatever this was. But I’ve done this many times in my career, situations similar to this, and I’ve just got to take advantage of this. At end of day, it’s a fight not it’s not a math test, it’s not the SAT or a thing that I’m not the best at, its what I love to do the most, it’s what I’ve done since my childhood.”

That doesn’t mean Masvidal would accept a matchup with just anyone on this sort of timeline. Some opponents require a full training camp. But Masvidal insists that even though Usman (16-1 MMA, 11-0 UFC), who is undefeated in UFC competition, holds the welterweight title, he is exactly the type of opponent Masvidal wants to face under these circumstances.

“My opponent? I don’t have faith in him,” he said. “There are other guys that I would have been ‘maybe I need more than six days,’ you know?

“Besides him having 17 different personalities and me not showing which one is going to show up to fight, I think he’s weak-minded.”

Asked later in the group interview whether he’s willing to give Usman credit, again Masvidal insists Usman is all hype.

“(He’s) nowhere near as good as advertised, and that’s why I’m here to prove it.”

UFC 251 takes place Saturday at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

Michael Bisping warns Michael Chandler not to underestimate Conor McGregor: ‘Can’t be drunk on your own ego’

Michael Bisping thinks Michael Chandler would be making a grave mistake by underestimating Conor McGregor. Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) welcomes McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) back in a welterweight bout, which headlines UFC 303 June 29 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+). McGregor hasn’t competed...

Karine Silva explains how fast UFC rise was actually deceivingly long

LAS VEGAS – Karine Silva has heard the praise. Even though the narratives are largely complementary, Silva (17-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC) admits her run toward UFC notoriety isn’t as quick and effortless as it may seem. “It wasn’t quick, guys. It wasn’t fast,” Silva told MMA Junkie and other...

come and try a ludus mma class free!

We want to make sure that Ludus MMA is the right fit for you before asking you to commit to a membership.
That’s why we’d like to offer you a FREE ONE-DAY PASS to our gym.

With your FREE PASS, you can:

  • Try as many classes as you’d like,
  • Explore the facility
  • Talk to our coaches one-on-one about what you can expect as a member

© Copyright 2024 - Ludus Martial Arts - 730 Beach Blvd, Unit 105, Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250.

(904) 374-4186 / ludusmartialarts@gmail.com