Legendary UFC fighter and fan-favorite welterweight Jorge ‘Gamebred’ Masvidal thought he was robbed by the judges in his boxing match against Nate Diaz earlier this year; so much so that he’s already in communication with the UFC over his return.
Yet the UFC welterweight division is far different now than what it was when Jorge Masvidal last fought in the octagon, with ‘Gamebred’ eager to get back into the promotion where he became a bonified superstar.
Jorge Masvidal claims he’s in talks with the UFC over potential return
It’s safe to say that Jorge Masvidal vehemently disagreed with the judges score totals in his majority decision loss to Nate Diaz in the boxing ring earlier this year; in fact, the ‘King of Miami’ was so disheartened that he turned his attention back to the sport that saw him become a household name.
“I don’t care to ever go back in boxing really, that left a bad taste in my mouth – anyways I’m an MMA fighter brother, gunfighter brother,” he told MMA Fighting earlier this week.
“I’m eager to get back in there, I’m in great shape – not in MMA shape but I’m in great overall shape – I trained for about six months Monday through Saturday then same thing, boxing, boxing and a lot of running so I feel like I’m going to get in there and kick someone’s a** brother.”
Whilst Masvidal acknowledged that he would never rule out taking one or two more big boxing fights somewhere down the line, his focus is now purely on getting back in shape in the hopes of landing a major return fight in the UFC.
“It’s not that I won’t, I had some matches lined up and now I guess they’ve seen the Nate Diaz fight, and they don’t want to fight no more so you know what, we’ll get right back to MMA.
“I’m not going to wait for nobody, a year, six months, I’m just getting myself in the best shape possible to do what I’ve always loved the most, MMA.”
When asked whether he’d actually engaged in any conversations with the UFC over his MMA comeback, Masvidal confirmed that he’s already in negotiations with the head honchos: “I’ve been talking to my boy Hunter [Campbell].
If Jorge Masvidal was plotting to land the single biggest comeback fight in UFC history, he’d set his sights on the ‘Notorious’ Conor McGregor; however, ‘Gamebred’ believes that we won’t see the Irishman back in the octagon.
“I don’t think we’ll see him [fighting again] … Yeah I don’t think so bro, I hope he proves me wrong, but I don’t think so.”
Consequently, one name mentioned by Masvidal as a potential opponent is the man who was scheduled to face McGregor earlier in the year, Michael Chandler.
“It could be this year – Vegas, December 7 – knock Michael Chandler dead on his a** [or] it could be next year, Super Bowl, knock somebody else on their ass. I don’t know. I don’t quite know yet.
“[Chandler] that wouldn’t be a bad fight to get my feet wet again in MMA, kind of an introductory course in MMA you know – I wouldn’t mind that fight but there’s a lot of fights out there.”
Should Masvidal sign on the dotted line, fans would also be quick to call for a long-awaited fight with former welterweight champion Leon Edwards; and whilst ‘Gamebred’ would love that bout, he doubts ‘Rocky’ would accept his terms.
“Leon Edwards don’t want this smoke man, he had other options and wanted to do other things except fighting me.”
Ultimately, whilst the comeback is alive and kicking, Masvidal is “going to review all my options [and] see what the money looks like too; I love fighting, but most don’t need to know that [or] they might try to drop the price on me.”
