Jorge Masvidal became the inaugural BMF champion of the UFC by defeating Nate Diaz in the main event of UFC 244. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson presented the BMF belt to Masvidal after the doctor stopped the fight due to a cut on Diaz’s eyebrow.
Currently, Justin Gaethje holds the BMF title as he secured a knockout victory over Dustin Poirier with a head kick in the second round of their UFC 291 bout. However, it’s worth noting that the first-ever BMF champion, Jorge had already retired following his fight with Gilbert Burns at UFC 287.
Jorge Masvidal proposes potential bout with Justin Gaethje
During an interview with ESPN, Jorge Masvidal proposed a fight against Justin Gaethje if “Gamebred” decides to return to the Octagon. Currently retired, Masvidal was playfully teasing a comeback.
Despite Gaethje’s competition in the lightweight division, Masvidal’s intention is to have the fight take place in the welterweight division. It’s interesting to note that Masvidal was the one who presented the belt to ‘The Highlight’ at UFC 291.
Gaethje fought Dustin Poirier for the BMF title at UFC 291. Poirier trains at American Top Team with Jorge Masvidal. ‘The Diamond’ is a training partner and friends with Masvidal. Interestingly, Masvidal lost a significant amount by betting on Poirier to defeat Gaethje at UFC 291.
However, Masvidal clarified that he is not actively seeking a fight with Gaethje. Additionally, it’s worth noting that he is currently out of the USADA testing pool. Masvidal retired from the UFC after suffering four consecutive defeats, two of which were title fights against Kamaru Usman.
The other two losses came against Gilbert Burns and Colby Covington. In contrast, Masvidal enjoyed the best year of his career in 2019, defeating Darren Till, Ben Askren, and Nate Diaz.
Ex-BMF champ Masvidal hails Justin Gaethje
Masvidal calling for a fight with Justin didn’t diminish his praise for the former interim lightweight champion. Instead, Gamebred was quite pleased to see a fighter like Gaethje holding the belt that Madvidal himself once held.
The retired MMA fighter had high praise for Gaethje’s mentality of facing opponents, regardless of their fighting style. This demonstrates that deep down, Jorge still holds respect for the new BMF champion
Even though ‘The Highlight’ won the belt, he still believes that Dustin Poirier is the better fighter. Gaethje was simply the better fighter that night. However, before their highly-anticipated encounter, both Gaethje and Poirier had experienced similar journeys in the UFC.
‘The Diamond’ had previously defeated ‘The Highlight’ in their first encounter, which took place in 2018. Furthermore, both Gaethje and Poirier had held the interim lightweight championship once but later lost to the undisputed champions Charles Oliveira and Khabib Nurmagomedov twice.
Gaethje is currently looking forward to face the winner of the Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira bout. Prior to his victory over Poirier, Gaethje defeated Rafael Fiziev via unanimous decision at UFC 286.”
What do you think of a potential matchup between Justin Gaethje and Jorge Masvidal? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section.
