Former UFC welterweight star Jorge Masvidal has one big regret when it comes to reflecting on his unprecedented rise to the top of mixed martial arts.
Masvidal will make his combat sports return in a boxing match with UFC 244 foe Nate Diaz on July 6. He returns after announcing his MMA retirement after a loss to Gilbert Burns at UFC 287.
Masvidalâs 2019 UFC year will live in mixed martial arts lore. In just eight months, he returned from a mediocre fighting veteran into a superstar, earning knockouts of Darren Till and Ben Askren.
Masvidalâs 2019 successes would precede a four-fight losing streak to end his UFC tenure. It all began with a short-notice title fight against Kamaru Usman on Fight Island at UFC 251 when he lost to Usman by unanimous decision.
Despite saving the UFC 251 pay-per-view, Masvidal still wonders if taking the short-notice cage assignment was worth it.
itâs a regret, but also not a regret. When I got the call to fight [Kamaru] Usman on six daysâ notice, me and the UFC had been going back because I wanted more pay-per-view money, I wanted a bigger distribution on the pay-per-views that I was bringing in,â Masvidal said. âThey werenât budging on thatâŚif I bring in money, I want to get paid money. If I sell 100-thousand pay-per-views, then donât give me s***âŚbut I wanted to get f**** paidâŚ
âThat was going on for a while and then we came to a halt⌠and I was like âF***. Whatever bro, I guess itâs not meant to meâ. In Strikeforce, I fought for the lightweight world title, and the UFC had already purchased the company, but I got a s*** deal. The fight kept getting pushed backâŚand I made $16,000 to challenge for the world title, against the guy who was top-rated in the worldâŚthen I had all of the chips on my side, because who is going to cut all this weight, six days, make weight and at the time Iâm number one. So they didnât have any choiceâŚI fought for everything I could, I made more money than I ever had in my careerâŚbut I didnât get the decision I wanted in that fight. It wouldâve been completely different [if it was seven weeksâ notice].â
Masvidal would go on to lose to Usman in an immediate rematch at UFC 261 by knockout. Defeats to Colby Covington and Burns would signal the end for âGamebredâ inside the UFC Octagon.
Despite the rocky end to his UFC tenure, Masvidal remains a legend and a potential UFC Hall of Famer. His upcoming boxing match with Diaz will dictate whether or not Masvidal can return to the form that made him into a superstar in 2019.
legendary?
The Toby Imada loss was legendary , have to give him credit for that
Exactly. That term gets WAY overused, and certainly doesnât apply here.
Decades from now when talking about Fedor, absolutely.
Legendary?
Correct
Legendary fighters
Jones
GSP
Anderson
Fedor
Far from legendary
Jorge sucker punch Masvidal
So weâre just throwing that word around now?
Buddy, you donât get anything you want in fighting.
You only get what you deserve.
HKP seems to think heâs âlegendaryâ
You Think I Am Too
You are legendaryâŚ
Jorge is Snot
Now do BJ Penn
BJ constantly fought above his weight class
he also won the first fight against GSP IMHO
BJ was a double weight champion bro.
Donât do BJ like that
@Smilin_like_Rashad , I know Ur team Nate 209 and will be rooting against Jorge.
Is it Fresno Ur from?
Definitely not Stockton.
Probably wouldnât have any internet!
So his regret is taking the fight on 6 days notice but its not a regret because he successfully negotiated for more money than heâd ever seen his whole career while staying on Danaâs good side, losing a decision and getting an immediate rematch?