Jorge Masvidal wants back in. The former BMF champion said he’s been dying to compete again, and he didn’t limit himself to the Octagon. According to EssentiallySports, Masvidal hinted at a UFC return and at possible moves to Zuffa Boxing or Power Slap.
That’s the whole report so far. No opponent, no date, no weight class, no signed paper. Masvidal is hinting, and nobody has announced anything.
The timing is interesting, though. On Oct. 9, Ali Abdelaziz posted on X, tagging Masvidal’s account: “@GamebredFighter he’s special, but he has something very special coming up🤯🤯🤯”
View post on X
Three exploding-head emojis and zero details is exactly the kind of announcement I can’t stand, and the post alone doesn’t make clear who Abdelaziz is talking about or what’s coming. Treat it as a tease, nothing more.
Masvidal has stayed in the conversation lately with his Death Row MMA show. Ben Askren was a recent guest, and the two broke down the flying knee from UFC 239 in July 2019 that put Askren out cold in five seconds. Askren came in undefeated through his first 21 pro fights, a two-time NCAA Division I champion with belts in Bellator and ONE, and he’d never been knocked out. He fought once more after that night and retired.
Askren told Masvidal on the show that he’d “never, ever seen anyone do it like that before”, saying he misjudged the running trajectory of the knee. Masvidal explained that he’d watched all of Askren’s tape and noticed the wrestler liked to crash in and shoot whenever he didn’t like the range. So he sold the right hand first.
“I wanted you to feel that I’m in right hand range and then bam,” Masvidal said.
That knockout changed his career. Masvidal had spent years as the respected journeyman who fought everybody, and the knee turned him into a genuine star with two UFC title shots to follow.
View post on X
The later chapters went worse. Colby Covington beat him in the UFC, and Bloody Elbow’s recent piece on Covington lists Masvidal among the opponents who washed out of the promotion soon after losing to Chaos. Masvidal’s most recent outing was a 2024 boxing match against Nate Diaz, a card that also featured Anthony Pettis beating Chris Avila on the undercard.
He’s also been talking like a matchmaker. Speaking to MMA Full Mount, Masvidal pitched Ilia Topuria vs. Paddy Pimblett as a stadium fight, arguing Pimblett could sell out T-Mobile Arena and Topuria carries Latin America.
“You put both of these guys together, numbers wise, this is the biggest fight the UFC can make,” he said.
My take: if Gamebred comes back, I want it in boxing gloves or four-ounce gloves, and I’d skip the slap stage. Power Slap would get him views. A real fight would get him something worth having. Until a name and a date show up, though, being dying to fight is a feeling, and the question for Abdelaziz is what his three emojis actually mean.
