Jorge Masvidal is coming home again.
Following his retirement from MMA in 2023 and a recent boxing match against Nate Diaz, the first ever “BMF” champion is ready to resume his UFC career. Masvidal told MMA Fighting that talks already ongoing for his next fight, and he’s targeting a potential return in late 2024 or early 2025.
“I’ve been talking to my boy Hunter [Campbell],” Masvidal told MMA Fighting. “Finding out, he’s like, ‘Let me check this date, see if this dude wants the heat, let me see if that guy wants to get beat up.’ First, we’ll lock in the date. Lock in that date and then we’ll find the body.”
With more than 50 professional fights on his résumé and a career dating back over 20 years, Masvidal was ready for a break when he announced his retirement after a loss to Gilbert Burns at UFC 287. He didn’t totally step away from fighting, however, and instead launched his own promotion, putting on events in both boxing and bare-knuckle MMA.
Masvidal eventually decided to test himself in boxing, which is something he long desired to explore even while he was in the midst of his UFC career. That’s when the opportunity arose to face Diaz in a rematch after Masvidal beat him to win the “BMF” title back in 2019.
Despite out-landing Diaz during the fight and connecting with several hard shots across the 10-round battle, Masvidal still ended up on the losing end of a majority decision. That night, Masvidal blamed hometown cooking for his loss, pointing to the fight taking place in Diaz’s backyard in California.
His resolve was only strengthened after going back and watching the fight at home.
“How do you rob somebody so blatantly?” Masvidal said. “But I knew that going in. Originally when we were negotiating, my team was going to get a judge from California, a judge from Vegas, and a judge from Florida. It seems fair. And [Diaz’s team] weren’t having it. They’re like, ‘No, we’re not interested in that. Three Californians, all the judges [have to be] from California or there will be no fight. We’re not interested in that.’
“I’m like, it’s such a ho tactic, but in my mind I’m thinking, ‘I’m going to knock this guy out again anyway, so what do I care? Let him think these judges being on his side, he’s going to win. I’m going to leave him face up looking for air.’ But unfortunately in that department, it didn’t go my way.”
As much as it stung to lose in controversial fashion, the fight actually served a greater purpose. It lit a fire under Masvidal to get back to the sport in which he first made his name.
“I ain’t slowing down. I’m training everyday, especially after what that last robbery just did to me,” Masvidal said. “It left a bad taste in my mouth. I knew with three California judges and fighting a dude in California.
“It was on nobody else’s scorecards anywhere else in the world. It’s bad. Some rounds that I threw more, landed more, hit him more, rocked him, and they still gave him the round. It’s just like, oh my gosh, I don’t even care to go back into boxing. That left a bad taste in my mouth, and anyways, I’m an MMA fighter.”
Masvidal isn’t totally opposed to another boxing match if the right opportunity is presented to him, but at this point, he’s focused on returning to the UFC for his next fight.
He did react to the news that Diaz filed a lawsuit against Fanmio — the company that promoted their fight on pay-per-view — after the California native was allegedly stiffed out of $9 million still owed from the fight.
Masvidal couldn’t answer if he was paid his full purse, but it sounds like that’s something he’ll eventually address when the time is right.
“I’ve got to plead the fifth,” Masvidal said. “I can’t really tell you yes or no. Someone is telling me to plead the fifth right now and I’ve kind of got to listen to them, but soon everything will be known. There’s nothing that stays under the sun that doesn’t get brought to the light. So it will get known eventually, but as of right now, I can’t say a word.”
As far as his UFC return, Masvidal isn’t wasting any time. He’s already in training six days a week with his coaches and teammates at American Top Team in Florida to get back in the kind of shape required for MMA.
While the date and location are what matters most to him right now, Masvidal definitely has some ideas on potential opponents. That includes maybe even stealing a fight away from longtime rival Conor McGregor.
“It could be this year,” Masvidal said of his next fight. “It could be Vegas, Dec. 7. I’ll f*cking drop Michael Chandler dead on his ass. It could be next year, Super Bowl, knock somebody else on their ass. I don’t know. I don’t quite know yet.
“I’m going to review all my options. I’m going to see all my options, see what the money looks like too. I love fighting, but most don’t need to know that, they might try to drop the price on me.”
