The next time Jorge Masvidal competes, he says it will be in the UFC cage.
Masvidal (35-17 MMA, 12-10 UFC) was granted permission while under contract with the UFC to box Nate Diaz in July. He lost the bout by majority decision.
Masvidal’s fire for MMA still burns, however. The 39-year-old says he still has plenty of fight left in him and he plots a UFC return.
“I had a blast doing the boxing. It was fun. It was everything, but there’s just nothing in the world that compares to MMA,” Masvidal recently told Grind City Media. “There ain’t sh*t in the world like MMA. I just finished up training at American Top Team right now and it’s just the funnest thing I’ve ever done in my life.
“There’s a lot of nights I went to sleep just missing it, just doing certain training or certain workouts. I f*cking love it, man. Definitely 100 percent back to MMA. I don’t know when I’m fighting, but I’m fighting either the end of this year or next year.”
Masvidal retired after losing a unanimous decision to Gilbert Burns at UFC 287 in April 2023 – his fourth loss in a row. However, not only does “Gamebred” intend on fighting again, the fan favorite is shooting for the top.
“When I get the biggest fights that I can possibly get, knock that motherf*cker dead, they’ll be begging me to fight for the title,” Masvidal said. “A title run is never ever out of the question. Especially for somebody as skilled as me.”
Masivdal fought for the UFC welterweight title twice, falling short both times to Kamaru Usman. His first fight with Usman at UFC 251 is reportedly one of the highest selling pay-per-views in company history.