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.
Masvidal’s 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.
Masvidal’s 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.
Jorge Masvidal reflects on the highs and lows of UFC career
In a recent appearance on the TimboSugarShow podcast, Masvidal explained why his days’ notice gamble at UFC 251 is his biggest career regret.
“It’s a regret, but also not a regret. When I got the call to fight [Kamaru] Usman on six days’ 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,” Masvidal said. “They weren’t budging on that…if I bring in money, I want to get paid money. If I sell 100-thousand pay-per-views, then don’t give me s***…but I wanted to get f**** paid…
“That was going on for a while and then we came to a halt… and I was like ‘F***. Whatever bro, I guess it’s not meant to me’. 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 back…and I made $16,000 to challenge for the world title, against the guy who was top-rated in the world…then 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 I’m number one. So they didn’t have any choice…I fought for everything I could, I made more money than I ever had in my career…but I didn’t get the decision I wanted in that fight. It would’ve been completely different [if it was seven weeks’ notice].”
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.
