Jorge Masvidal suffered his fourth consecutive defeat as he lost a unanimous decision ti Gilbert Burns at UFC 287.
Masvidal entered his pivotal clash against Burns on a three-fight losing skid as the Miami native was without a win since claiming the inaugural 'BMF" title against Nate Diaz in November 2019. Burns lost out to Khamzat Chimaev in a Fight of the Year contender last April but got back in the win column in January by impressively tapping out fellow longtime contender Neil Magny.
As the fight between the welterweight rivals got underway, Masvidal landed two good leg kicks as chants of "Let's go Jorge" echoed around the Kaseya Center. Burns landed a good right hand but it just grazed the chin of Masvidal, who responded with a good flurry. Burns almost capitalised on Masvidal overextending a right hand by taking him down, but 'Gamebred' did well to stay on his feet.
What were your thoughts on Gilbert Burns and Jorge Masvidal's fight at UFC 287? Let us know in the comments section below
Burns finished the opening round on top by landing a big right hand then taking Masvidal down for the first time in the fight. The Brazilian picked up. in the second where he left off by briefly dropping Masvidal before slamming him to the mat with a huge takedown. The Miami crowd booed as Burns worked from top position on the ground and Masvidal eventually got back to his feet but was slammed back down again by Burns.
Masvidal was stunned by a big right hand from Burns in the third round but he welcomed the onslaught. Burns continued to push the pace as Masvidal looked exhausted with two minutes left in the fight. Burns showed his excellent fight IQ by taking Masvidal down again and working from top position until the final bell.
The judges saw it 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 all in favour of Burns and Masvidal announced his retirement from fighting in the cage after the decision was read. 'Gamebred' took off his gloves and gave a heartfelt message to the Miami crowd, also shouting out former US President Donald Trump who was cageside for the UFC 287 event.
Elsewhere on the UFC 287 card, Adrian Yanez was brutally knocked by Rob Font in the first round. Kevin Holland got back in the win column after his lost to Stephen Thompson last December by knocking out Santiago Ponzinibbio in the third round. 18-year-old prospect Raul Rosas Jr suffered his first UFC defeat as the teenager was beaten by Christian Rodriguez.
Former title challenger Kelvin Gastelum and Chris Curtis both earned $50,000 performance bonuses for their action-packed fight that Gastelum won by unanimous decision. Joe Pyfer scored a big knockout win against Gerald Meerschaert in just his second fight for the promotion. Loopy Godinez, Ignacio Bahamondes and Sam Hughes all picked up hard-fought decision wins whilst Steve Garcia rallied after an early scare to knockout Shayilan Nuerdanbieke.
