Jorge Masvidal announced his retirement back in April this year, and according to a former fighter, he won’t be returning to the UFC anytime soon. UFC 287 saw ‘Gamebred’ fight Gilbert Burns in his hometown, but unfortunately for the Miami native, he fell to a loss on the scorecards. After the bout, he announced his retirement, though he has since hinted at making a return.
In the latest episode of Beyond the Fight hosted by Chael Sonnen, the former UFC fighter revealed why Masvidal would not return to the organization. Sonnen explained that Jorge couldn’t fight in the octagon if it didn’t have a significance. He referred to a potential BMF fight between Masvidal and Gaethje as a dead-end road since the belt has no lineage, has never been defended, and will ultimately take the fighter nowhere. The ‘Baddest M*********er’ belt was introduced at UFC 244 for the winner of the fight between Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz and is currently held by Justin Gaethje, who claimed it at UFC 291 after defeating Dustin Poirier.
As rumors of Masvidal’s return to the octagon continue to circulate, Ben Askren revealed that he would come out of retirement to face Jorge Masvidal. The two fighters share a history of bad blood that climaxed with their fight in the octagon, which resulted in one of the fastest knockouts in the sport’s history. Since then, Askren has never been the same.
In response to the news of ‘Gamebred’ potentially returning to the octagon, the former Bellator champion said that if Dana White called him and offered a fight against Masvidal at UFC 300, he would be out of retirement and ready to fight. When asked if it would be an MMA fight, Askren confirmed that it would be, acknowledging his poor boxing skills. As the anticipation builds for the historic UFC 300 card in April, fans eagerly await the possible return of both fighters to the octagon.
