There’s a good possibility that we haven’t seen the last of Jorge Masvidal in the UFC.
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Retirements hardly ever stick in the fight game with “Gamebred” laying down the gloves for what he thought would be the final time at UFC 287 in Apr. 2023, following a decision loss to Gilbert Burns. More than a year later, however, Masvidal has changed his tune, fighting in the ring with a return to MMA in his rear-view mirror.
This Saturday in Anaheim, California, Masvidal will face off with old rival Nate Diaz once again, this time in a 10-round boxing match. Masvidal took the first encounter against Diaz in 2019, defeating the Stockton-native in the main event of UFC 244 to capture the inaugural BMF Championship. Years later, they’ll rematch in the boxing ring on their own terms.
Masvidal’s fight with Diaz is the first of three boxing matches that the UFC has given him permission to partake in, as Masvidal still remains under contract with the premier MMA promotion. That being said, the 39 year-old is in hot pursuit of making the “biggest fights possible” happen for him in boxing, floating around names like…
“Floyd Mayweather and Logan Paul – that’s what I’m thinking,” Masvidal told Michael Bisping. “That’s what my people are thinking, trying to do… I wanna get the biggest fights possible. I wouldn’t mind a fight with Logan and just breaking all the pay-per-view records and having more time to box, get my hands really cemented in this boxing stuff and learn the craft more and then go after Mayweather.”
Former boxing champion Mayweather has already put the finishing touches on his pro career, going 50-0 with a 2017 TKO of Conor McGregor in the most massive crossover fight imaginable. But, Mayweather’s not done making money yet as he’s taken on several exhibition matches since then – beating up influencers and fighters alike, including Logan Paul.
After going the distance with Mayweather in 2021, the elder Paul brother (and social media sensation) returned to boxing with a disqualification win over the highly controversial Dillon Danis last year.
Along with Mayweather and Paul, Masvidal would also hear out Michael Bisping on potential fights with former UFC stars Mike Perry and Darren Till, with former title challenger Till being someone Masvidal has already defeated, back at UFC London in 2019.
“I’ve always liked Mike Perry style’s since he got into the UFC and he’s a hell of a dog,” Masvidal said of the BKFC star, who takes on Jake Paul next on July 20th. “… That’d be a f****** huge fight to make in the future.
“Darren Till, him and me already got a scrap and it was a hell of a scrap,” Masvidal added. “I think that Till’s been focusing more and more straight on the boxing, so I wouldn’t mind going back to England and running it again over there.”
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After his three boxing matches are all said and done, Masvidal says he’s going “back to the UFC” to return the contractual favor for at least one more fight in the Octagon.
“They said one of the conditions [of boxing] is that I come back and do one fight for them in the UFC. So that’s the plan, come back, definitely do another fight,” Masvidal added. “From there, check the landscape out, see if I’m staying in the UFC or more than likely, I’ll be coming back to boxing.
“It’s lacking something,” Masvidal said, when asked about the current state of the UFC Welterweight division. “That something that is your boy right here, being in tip-top shape, being violent and putting on some f****** great fights.”
But, for all that to happen, Jorge Masvidal must first settle his rivalry with Nate Diaz this weekend in a boxing headliner.
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