Jorge Masvidal, like so many fighters before him, is seeing ghosts.
Despite this pre-fight promise, “Gamebred” was knocked out by welterweight champion Kamaru Usman during their UFC 261 rematch back in April 2021, which followed a unanimous decision loss to “The Nigerian Nightmare” at UFC 251 the previous summer.
Could a victory over a Top 5 opponent earn Masvidal another title shot?
“Masvidal was doing good in that first round and then he gets caught and he gets KOed which by the way was a vicious knockout,” Kawa told MMA Underground. “I’m not taking nothing away from [Usman]. So that haunts [Masvidal] a little bit. He wants to fight somebody who can get his name back in there in that Top 5, beat somebody, and then he wants to fight Usman one last time and then that might be it.”
Whether or not Usman is still champion by the time Masvidal is ready remains to be seen. “The Nigerian Nightmare” will defend his division title against longtime nemesis Leon Edwards atop the UFC 278 pay-per-view (PPV) card next month in Salt Lake City.
Making a “Rocky” title fight possible for Masvidal.
“If Leon beats Kamaru, you have the ‘three piece and a soda’ … it has to happen,” Kawa continued. “There would be no better way for him to go fight Leon, then fight Kamaru after that. If you ever wanted to write a story … but you gotta rely on Leon beating Kamaru. That’s a tall order for anybody. For the sport, for Masvidal, for Leon even, if Leon wins the belt and he gets to fight Masvidal for that belt in London, that’s gonna be the biggest payday of Leon’s career and deservedly so.”
Assuming Masvidal doesn’t end up in the slammer.
Masvidal and Edwards have history after running into each other backstage at UFC London in early 2019, where a worked-up “Gamebred” let his hands go and delivered a “three piece and a soda” to the English bruiser, though UFC never capitalized on the exchange.
The next few months are going to be very interesting for the 170-pound division.
Mas more obnoxious than > Jake
If a bout between Jorge Masvidal and Conor McGregor is to happen, “Gamebred” wants to ensure that it happens under BMF rules.
While “BMF” rules, by nature, are non-conforming, Masvidal has come forward to provide some clarity into what they might look like. In particular, he has laid out what amounts to both a challenge and a rulebook to Conor McGregor under BMF statutes.
In essence, it comes down to the common American expression, “put up or shut up” before the victor collects up (h/t The Sun).
“I’d bring out the BMF belt only for a bad motherfer and some cash money,” McGregor said of a potential bout against McGregor. “You a bad motherfer and you got some money? Let’s put some money. Let’s get a little escrow going, you know?
“I put a couple million aside, you put a couple million aside, and it comes with the belt. It’s a cherry on top. That’s what a bad motherfucker would do is get this money. So it’s there, you know, but it has to be right, under my stipulations and with that belt, I’m like a f***ing tyrant.”
Will Masvidal vs. McGregor Become A Reality?
Of course, this isn’t the first time Masvidal has challenged McGregor. In fact, the BMF once pulled up to a McGregor fight (UFC 246/Cerrone) rocking a Versace robe, as inspired by attire McGregor wore during the leadup of his 2017 bout against Floyd Mayweather.
Who Wore It Better? (h/t ScrapDigest)
Nevertheless, Masvidal isn’t the only person to challenge McGregor to a bout as of late. He’s in very packed company at that party. Even Charles Oliveira, the “unofficial” UFC lightweight champion, if you will, has insisted on fighting McGregor next, perhaps at the expense of an actual title fight to regain the championship he lost via UFC 274 weight miss.
The latest update has a McGregor return estimated to be around early 2023. Meanwhile, Masvidal is currently battling legal issues after allegedly battering rival Colby Covington on the streets of Miami earlier this year.
To read up more on that incident and other recent Jorge Masvidal stories, you can do so right here!
Burns was very respectful when calling out Masvidal, because he doesn’t believe a battle between them needs any unnecessary trash talk when the fight could speak for itself.
While Masvidal has engaged in plenty of bitter rivalries in the past, he’s appreciated the way that Burns approached a possible fight with him, especially after he spent months trying to coax McGregor into facing him yet heard almost nothing from the Irish superstar.
“Definitely a fight that interests me,” Masvidal said about Burns. “Before the Conor fight came up, that’s the one that called me out and I was like, this is a guy that comes to fight.
“The whole world doesn’t know him but they will, because he comes to fight. He’s going to try and choke you out, knock you out, and just has a good style. I like the fight.”
Before Masvidal commits to anything, he first has to clear up some legal hurdles in front of him in the form of assault charges pending from an alleged altercation with former teammate and opponent Colby Covington, stemming from an incident that happened in March.
Masvidal remains cautiously optimistic that he’ll be able to compete again before the end of 2022, but he doesn’t want to make promises to any opponent and not deliver in the end.
“Once some of these legal issues I’ve got going on [are settled], I’m setting a date,” Masvidal said. “That’s another reason why we’re not setting dates right now, because I’ve just got to figure out some things and then we’ll lock it in.”
Stop it Jorge
He was not doing good in that first round. He kept spamming flying knees like he was playing a video game.
Go away Jorge
Fuck Mas. No one wants to see a 3rd fight.
so mesmerizing
Well considering that he’s about to drop his 4th fight in a row (to Burns) in a few months, I just can’t see this 3rd fight with Usman ever happening.
I loathe Jorge at this point.
I think Jorges stock is back to pre Till levels…he needs to STFU and take whatever Dana gives him
