Jorge Masvidal is not done with the UFC. All set to make his his boxing debutwith Nate Diaz, which will take place a few hours from now, ‘Gamebred’ Masvidal appeared on Michael Bisping’s YouTube podcast and revealed that he would return to the octagon soon despite declaring his retirement at UFC 287.
Masvidal told Bisping that he had the UFC’s approval to go for three boxing “fights” independently. But he would have to oblige to Dana White and Co.’s demands of fighting one more time inside the octagon since he is still in contract with them.
‘Gamebred’ also mentioned that he won’t make full use of the three-fight approval that the UFC authorities had provided him with.
Instead, he was planning to make his UFC return just after his first boxing match against Nate Diaz.
However, the former BMF of the UFC wasn’t sure about what he would do post the completion of the last fight in his UFC contract. Masvidal said,
“[I’ll get] Back to the UFC. One of their conditions was that I [should] come back and do one fight in the UFC. So that’s the plan, coming back and doing another fight. [After that I’ll decide if I feel like] staying in the UFC, or it’s more likely that I’ll be coming back to boxing.”
Masvidal is someone who has been fighting since his late teenage years. He declared his UFC retirement largely due to the frustration from his consecutive losses, not because of his age.
However, at this point, Masvidal’s condition may remind fans of another noted former UFC champion. The path ‘Gamebred’ is planning to take resembles what this former UFC champ did.
Up and away, the Jose Aldo Way
Fans may remember that the former UFC featherweight king, Jose Aldo had declared his UFC retirement in August 2022, after losing against Merab Dvalishvili.
Much like Masvidal, ‘Junior’ also transitioned to the boxing ring and went for two boxing matches. However, Aldo had to seek approval from the UFC authorities each time before negotiating his boxing matches since he was still under contract with the UFC with a single fight left.
So the Brazilian decided to end the terms of his UFC contract by having his last fight at UFC 301 against Jonathan Martinez.
Masvidal’s words indicate that he also has one fight left in his UFC contract, just like Aldo. So, after learning about ‘Gamebred’s’ plans, UFC fans will be waiting pretty eagerly for the announcement of his last contracted in-octagon encounter.
