Kamaru Usman continues to express his interest in fighting Jorge Masvidal.

At first, it appeared “The Nigerian Nightmare” was downplaying a matchup with “Gamebred.” When asked by Jon Anik if a bout with Masvidal interested him following UFC 245, the welterweight champion responded by asking, “who?” Since that time, a beef has been brewing between the two and they even got into a heated exchange during Super Bowl week on Radio Row.

Usman took to his Twitter account to release a video message explaining why he wants to fight Masvidal in an empty arena amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“The real reason I wanted the fight is because, guys, this guy is so much hype, he understands, he knows he can’t hold a candle to who I am, to what I can do,” Usman said. “He knows that. This guy is all hype. He relies on the hype. He relies on all the casual fans to jump on the bandwagon; that’s what he’s relying on. But I knew that fight would not have people in the stands; it would be empty. So old school wrestling style, like I be doing way back in high school, just us in the gym, we don’t need the crowd, we don’t need anybody.

“You know why, guys? Because I want you guys to hear what I’m about to say to him in there. I want you guys to hear every blow. I want you guys to hear, once I take him down, every punch, every elbow, every ground-and-pound strike I throw. I want you guys to hear him squeal like the pig that he is.”

UFC president Dana White has said that Usman vs. Masvidal is possible for July. With fights falling apart due to the COVID-19 crisis, Usman and Masvidal threw their names in the hat for a UFC 249 showdown on April 18. Both sides have hurled accusations of fight ducking.