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ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - JULY 05: Jorge Masvidal during weigh-in ahead of Last Man Standing Nate Diaz ...
[+] v Jorge Masvidal at the JW Marriott Anaheim on July 05, 2024 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) Former BMF Champion Jorge Masvidal is making his way back to the UFC. According to Masvidal, he is returning on an as-yet-announced card in Miami.
“I’ll be back April next year in the UFC,” Masvidal said as a guest on the Fight Back podcast. “We don’t have the opponent yet. Hopefully by December we’ve got the opponent.
April, Miami card.” Masvidal hasn’t competed in the UFC since April 2023 when he lost a unanimous decision to Gabriel Burns. That bout was at Miami’s Kaseya Center at it was the first UFC event in the city in 20 years, making his potential return to the venue even more significant.
In the UFC, Masvidal is riding four-fight losing streak that began in July 2020 when he lost a unanimous decision to then welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. Usman won the rematch in April 2021 by devastating one-punch KO. A unanimous decision loss to Colby Covington in March 2022 is sandwiched between the KO loss to Usman and the defeat to Burns.
Masvidal last win in the UFC came against Nate Diaz in the inaugural BMF title fight in November 2019. Since his last fight in the UFC, Masvidal has spread his combat sports wings. He owns Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA and he lost a boxing match against Diaz by majority decision in July.
At 40 years old, Masvidal is looking to make a comeback. Finding an opponent for Masvidal could be tricky, but there are two guys who stand out as a potentially good fit for the spot. Retired Hall-of-Famer Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone has been talking about making a comeback to the UFC.
The two met in 2017 and Masvidal won by second-round TKO. Cerrone retired on a seven-fight winless streak, and most don’t believe he should return. Save Up To 75% With The Best Black Friday Clothing Deals That Are Still Running 10 Unofficial Hoka Cyber Week Sales You Don’t Want To Miss However, Cerrone says he has been taking some banned substances that have revitalized him.
He wants time to get them out of his system so that he can test clean, and so he can make another run at 50 fights under the Zuffa banner. A rematch with Masvidal would likely be the right speed for both men at this stage of their careers. Another potential opponent for Masvidal is Tony Ferguson.
Despite Dana White’s urges for Ferguson to retire, El Cucuy has said he wants to continue to fight. Ferguson is on a record-breaking eight-fight losing streak and miles past his prime. Ferguson’s losing streak includes bouts against top contenders like Michael Chandler and Beneil Dariush, raising concerns about his ability to compete at a high level.
Coincidentally, Ferguson’s last win came over Cerrone in Chicago back in June 2019. Despite how much the UFC lowers the bar when it comes to opposition for Ferguson, he continues to lose. To make things worse, he’s not just losing, he’s getting stopped in almost every loss.
He’s been stopped in five of the eight consecutive losses. If Ferguson is going to compete again, an opponent like Cerrone or Masvidal would seemingly be the right matchup. Based on name recognition, either of these opponents would likely land Masvidal on the main card of any show in 2025, and especially one in his home state of Florida.
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