One of the most capturing stories in recent years, Jorge Masvidal‘s rise to stardom has been unprecedented as of late. Having returned after almost a year and a half out of the octagon, ‘Gamebread’ knocked out two title contenders before gaining the BMF strap against Nate Diaz in his first PPV main event.
Filling in on short notice at UFC 251 saw him drop a five-round decision to welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman. In the rematch (this time on a full camp), Jorge Masvidal was brutally knocked out in the second round. Despite pre-fight talk, Masvidal handled the loss with class, commenting to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani that ‘of that moment right there, I am a fan. Because I love the sport so much. It’s just beautiful technique‘. Maybe some other fighters on the UFC roster need to take notes as to how well Masvidal has handled this recent loss.
Following the loss to Usman, it’s quite clear that ‘the Nigerian Nightmare’ has Masvidal’s number. This leads to the question: What’s next for Gamebread?
Jorge Masvidal vs…
Nate Diaz 2
The fight for the BMF title didn’t end how anyone wanted it to. A doctor’s stoppage in a fight that should have been for the ‘baddest mother f’er’ on the planet was definitely an inconclusive end. The fight was largely dominated by Jorge Masvidal, picking Diaz apart on the feet before the doctor stopped it after the third round.
Nate Diaz is set to face Leon Edwards at UFC 262 in a five-round co-main event. If Diaz loses this one, he’ll be 1-3 in his last four. He is certainly a big-name draw and a rematch with Masvidal is one that everyone would tune in for.
Nick Diaz
Sticking with the Diaz theme, Nate’s older brother, Nick Diaz was in attendance at UFC 261. In the same interview with Helwani, Masvidal seemed open to a fight with Nick, stating: ‘You want to do right for your brother? Let’s go. I heard a lot of interviews that he wasn’t too keen on what I did to his little brother. Neither would I. I feel for Nick in that situation. I know what I’d wanna do if somebody did that to my little brother. So, let’s go’.
Is there an MMA fan who wouldn’t want to see these two throw down? Two veterans of the game, two pioneers from the ‘early days’, and two guys who have both been spoken about in the ‘best boxer in the UFC’ conversation. With Nick Diaz having been out since 2015 at being 37 years old it makes sense for him to come back for one last big payday… and you know who is always ‘game’.
Leon Edwards
Cast your mind back to London in 2019. Jorge Masvidal is just coming off the back of a huge knockout over Darren Till in the main event of UFC London, upsetting the home fighter. Leon Edwards has just dominated fan favorite, Gunnar Nelson in the co-main event. The two men are backstage and Masvidal is giving an interview with Laura Sanko. What materialized ended up with an exchanging of words between the two, with Masvidal handing Edwards a ‘three-piece and a soda’, throwing and landing punches on Edwards backstage.
The two clearly have some heat between them, with Rocky claiming that he’s called Masvidal out on a number of occasions to no avail. If Edwards can come through Diaz and Usman is preoccupied with Colby Covington, this one could certainly come to light.
Conor McGregor
An outsider chance is that Jorge Masvidal faces off against Conor McGregor. Following his BMF title win, Masvidal was seen as ‘the money fight’ in the UFC. Who loves money, is becoming more active, and is in and around the same weight as Masvidal? Enter, Conor McGregor.
With McGregor focussing on his rematch with Dustin Poirier, it won’t happen any time soon. Despite this, if McGregor loses to ‘The Diamond’ for a second time he’ll fall to 1-3 in his last four. It would make sense, with both men coming off the back of two losses but still are big draws.
The fight itself would make sense, purely for money reasons. Both men are huge draws and know how to sell a fight. The PPV buys would be massive. We know that the UFC are edging away from only having title fights headline PPV cards so this would make further sense. Will it happen? It all depends on how McGregor does at UFC 264, but it will be exciting if it does happen.
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