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Jorge Masvidal is one of the unlikeliest stars in UFC history. Additionally, with an upcoming bout for the 'BMF' title he left vacant just a week away, his run in MMA's premier promotion deserves a closer look. What exactly led to his rise to superstardom, and why did it hardly last?
'Gamebred' retired as a veteran of 52 fights, with 35 wins and 17 losses. It's not an abysmal record, but it certainly isn't a desirable one. Yet, in the latter stage of his career, probability and fortune brought him closer to the MMA mountaintop than he had ever been, complete with the UFC title shots that had always eluded him.
It led to a complete transformation, from his fighting style and personality, down to his fanbase. Suddenly, people who had never even known of Jorge Masvidal became dedicated supporters and he was chosen alongside Israel Adesanya as the cover star for the EA Sports UFC 4 video game.
This is a look at Jorge Masvidal, a star that burned bright, but brief.
Jorge Masvidal, the journeyman
It is Jorge Masvidal's former close friend Colby Covington, who has referred to him as a journeyman more than anyone else. In short, it relegates 'Gamebred' to the status of a fighter who, while reliable, is ultimately unremarkable. And for most of his career, that was indeed the case.
Before 2019, Masvidal was a fighter of little renown. He had won some fights and lost several. At that point in time, his signature win was likely his TKO over future UFC Hall of Famer Donald Cerrone, which took place at UFC on Fox 23. Unfortunately, Masvidal was not a consistent finisher.
He was a well-rounded fighter, but his primary attributes were his defensive boxing skills. Jorge Masvidal kept a tight guard, slipped punches and was an all-around difficult fighter to hit clean. But, he was content with slipping punches and admiring how slick he thought he looked, and doing nothing else of note.
It led to 'Gamebred' losing several bouts via split-decision. These were not losses due to him being inferior to his opponents. Instead, they were simply losses due to his tendency to not do enough in the eyes of the judges to warrant a decision in his favor. While this was the nature of many of his losses, not all of them were such.
His final loss before his long hiatus from the sport was crushing. He faced Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson, one of the greatest strikers in UFC history, and had nothing for him. He was made to look clueless against him, as he was dropped once and forced to pursue takedowns he couldn't complete.
On a two-fight losing streak and disillusioned with both his life and career, Masvidal took a sabbatical from the sport, during which he spent some time on the Exalted Estados Unidos reality TV show in the Dominican Republic. He took part in mental and physical challenges, and was wholly disconnected from the world.
He had neither friends nor family, and in his isolation, 'Gamebred' reevaluated every aspect of his life with his most trusted confidant: himself. A change was due, and a change was made.
Jorge Masvidal, the 'BMF' champion
After more than a year away from MMA, Jorge Masvidal made his return against Darren Till, a former welterweight title challenger just fresh off his loss against Tyron Woodley. At the time, it seemed like a daunting challenge for 'Gamebred', especially as their bout would take place on English soil.
Till had the hometown advantage and was expected to emerge victorious. After all, he was a new breed of 170-pounder, who had just fought for the title. Masvidal, meanwhile, would surely carry cage-rust due to his long hiatus. Yet, when the two men crossed swords at UFC Fight Night 147, the unexpected happened.
After surviving a knockdown in the first round, Jorge Masvidal bounced back in the second round to flatline 'The Gorilla' with a shifting combination. It elevated his profile and was the perfect start to his 2019 campaign, complete with an infamous backstage scuffle with future welterweight champion Leon Edwards.
This was a newer, more aggressive Jorge Masvidal, and his melee with Leon Edwards led to the birth of his most oft-quoted line:
"I gave him the three-piece with the soda." - Masvidal
His next fight came against promotional newcomer Ben Askren. There was no love lost between the two men. Askren was an undefeated phenom from the world of freestyle wrestling. Furthermore, he had held the welterweight title at both Bellator and ONE Championship.
Askren came into the UFC as confident as could be, despite a controversial ending to his win over Robbie Lawler. Askren was booked to face Masvidal at UFC 239, and his trash talk was at an all-time high ahead of their matchup. The former Olympian taunted and insulted him to no end.
He referenced a past sparring session that they'd hand, one that he claimed he'd been the victor of. Masvidal disputed his foe's account of their spar, and promised violence come fight night. When UFC 239 arrived, 'Gamebred' delivered in historic fashion and turned himself into a viral sensation.
He stared Askren down from across the octagon, with both hands behind his back. He grinned, the fight started and 'Gamebred' bolted forward. His foe dove for a takedown and Masvidal leapt for a flying knee. Their bout was over as quickly as it had begun. It was the fastest knockout the promotion had ever seen and still is.
Reactions to the win were widespread, and it earned the attention of one of the most standoffish fighters in UFC history: Nate Diaz. After a return from a three-year absence against Anthony Pettis, the Stockton cult icon called out 'Gamebred' for a bout in his post-fight interview.
The matchup would be for a symbolic title of Diaz's creation. The 'BMF' belt, which is now set to be fought over by Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje, was brought to life by the UFC, styled in polished platinum to distinguish it from the jeweled gold of traditional UFC titles.
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson was enlisted to wrap the title around the winner's waist, and Jorge Masvidal leaned into a new persona and aesthetic based on the Tony Montana character from the 1983 film classic Scarface. At UFC 244, all the bravado and bluster was put to the test, and he passed with flying colors.
For as long as his bout with Diaz lasted, Masvidal was dominant. He battered, bloodied and dropped him. By the third round, the cut above Diaz's head was enough for the cage-side doctor to wave off the fight. While Diaz protested, Masvidal celebrated as the promotion's first-ever 'BMF' champion.
Now, on a three-fight win streak, it was time for him to fulfill his dream by fighting for and capturing the UFC welterweight title.
Jorge Masvidal, the flash in the pan
UFC 251 was initially scheduled for Perth, Australia. Furthermore, it was originally headlined by Kamaru Usman and his close friend Gilbert Burns. Unfortunately, the PPV was at the mercy of the COVID-19 pandemic. This forced the UFC to relocate the event to Abu Dhabi to help fighters impacted by U.S. travel restrictions.
The pandemic further affected the event when it was revealed that both Gilbert Burns and his coach Greg Jones had tested positive for COVID-19. With nothing to lose, Jorge Masvidal stepped in on less than a week's notice to challenge Kamaru Usman for his welterweight title.
Jorge Masvidal was coming off a star-making year after recording three knockouts to capture the 'BMF' title in 2019. He was the talk of the town, such that even his inclusion on less than a week's notice was enough to drive the PPV sales of UFC 251 to a staggering 1.3 million. These were Conor McGregor's numbers.
'Gamebred' had spent most of his career fighting for his worth. He'd surely enjoy it now. Alas, he was ill-prepared for 'The Nigerian Nightmare' and was outworked by his foe's grinding cage-wrestling. He failed to capitalize on his first crack at an undisputed championship, but he had a built-in excuse.
He came in on short-notice. With a full camp, he promised, he'd break Usman's face. With Masvidal's newfound status as a PPV star, who was the UFC to deny him a rematch? So, after Kamaru Usman's subsequent destruction of Gilbert Burns, he and 'Gamebred' were booked for a rematch a year later.
Ahead of their clash at UFC 261, Jorge Masvidal dismissed Kamaru Usman's punching power and spoke ill of his fighting skills. But 'The Nigerian Nightmare' was supremely confident. He had an ace up his sleeve, a nuclear right hand that he debuted against 'Durinho' and perfected ahead of UFC 261.
Come fight night, the two men squared off. In the second round, Masvidal's age-old tendency of trying to look as slick as possible, came back to haunt him. Usman flicked his left hand out, grabbing Masvidal's rear hand to pull it down, exposing his foe's chin. Through that gap, his right hand flew in like a guided missile.
It blasted Jorge Masvidal into oblivion, his sweat sprinkling off his hair. He was laughing a moment ago, but was unconscious a second later, knocked out cold for the first time in his career. His only other prior loss due to strikes was a TKO against Rodrigo Damm, who never robbed him of his consciousness.
UFC 261 sold 700,000 PPVs. It was impressive, but well below the 1.3 million that UFC 251 had managed. After losing in such fashion, it was hard to believe that he'd come close to that number ever again. But the UFC tried by booking him in a grudge match with former best friend Colby Covington.
The two men had a widely publicized falling out, with Covington branding him a 'Street Judas' in reference to his other alias 'Street Jesus'. He brought up Jorge Masvidal's family during trash talk, and at UFC 272, the two men settled their differences, or at least, they tried to.
Covington was dominant for much of the bout, barring a near-knockdown in the later rounds. But Jorge Masvidal was too exhausted to capitalize on it. He lost the bout via unanimous decision, and his previous three-fight win streak was now overshadowed by a three-fight losing streak.
But he couldn't stomach a loss to Colby Covington, and allegedly attacked 'Chaos' outside a steak house in Miami Beach. The resulting legal trouble he found himself in led to an absence from the sport. When he finally returned a year later, he did so against Gilbert Burns, but it was simply not meant to be.
What he did in 2019 was catch lightning in a bottle. He achieved a rare, extraordinary level of success that he just couldn't recapture. He lost to 'Durinho' at UFC 287. With four straight losses and no place in the top 10, Jorge Masvidal announced his retirement in his post-fight interview.
His legacy in the sport is being enthroned as the first-ever 'BMF' champion. Now, his title is up for grabs, and will be claimed either by his friend Dustin Poirier or the lightweight division's human highlight reel Justin Gaethje. If he has his way, he'll be at UFC 291 to wrap the belt around the winner's waist.
