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Jorge Masvidal denies Gilbert Burns’ cheating accusation following their fight at UFC 287 this past Saturday.
Gilbert Burns accuses Jorge Masvidal of greasing
In what was his final UFC appearance, Masvidal lost a unanimous decision to Burns. However, ‘Durinho’ seems to feel that he was cheated out of a potential finish, as he thought ‘Gamebred’ was ‘so slippery’ during the fight.
“For sure he did that [old dog, Miami trick with the lotion],” said Burns at his post-fight press conference. “100 percent he did. I’m telling you, I’m not (saying), ‘Oh, maybe.’ No. 100 percent he did. He was so slippery. Whenever you guys watch the highlights, try to see. You’re going to see, like, he’s bright, his skin’s bright. That guy. I gotta give it up to this guy. The guy has all the tricks.”
Jorge Masvidal responds to Burns’ accusation
Masvidal insists there was no trick used against Burns. In an appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, the former BMF champion responded to Burns’ accusation, telling his former opponent that he was clean throughout his career and didn’t need to get dirty for their fight.
“There’s a commission,” said Masvidal. “There was, like, three commissioners backstage. There’s numerous people backstage besides [United States Anti-Doping Agency]. I’ve never greased. I’ve never been caught for cheating or anything.
“Maybe I’m the sweatiest motherf—ker he knows, but I’ve never greased,” continued Masvidal. “I’ve never put on anything in my life for forever. I’ve never done that in my life. Maybe he should blame his technique for f—king being s—tty, not being able to do anything but just hold on the ground. I’ve never cheated. The referee was there, touching me constantly and breaking us up and moving us around. You’re telling me he couldn’t tell if I had grease? He knows the difference between that and sweating, so, it’s whatever, bro.”
What comes next for Masvidal?
Following his loss to Burns, the American Top Team (ATT) staple announced his retirement from mixed martial arts. After a 20-year career, Masvidal said he no longer felt the same way when he fought.
That said, he did express interest in a return—though there are some options he would dismiss if they were presented.
“I definitely would X-out bare-knuckle just because of my hands,” said Masvidal. “Your boy has 20 years in the fight game. My hands have been through everything you can imagine. There’s times after fights that it’s, like, the hands are bad with gloves and casts. So I personally couldn’t do that. I wouldn’t do MMA, obviously. I always wanted to do boxing fights, but right now, I would say no to all of it. Not really knowing what the future would entail, I don’t know. Two, three years from now, I don’t know. It also depends on the type of shape that I’m in. Everything will be very, very calculated, especially from this point going forward.”
For Gilbert Burns, ‘Durinho’ had an immediate demand to make of the UFC after beating Jorge Masvidal. The Brazilian wants to be backup for the assumed upcoming welterweight title fight between champion Leon Edwards and top contender Colby Covington. Covington seemed like an unlikely man to take the spot as the division’s number one challenger, but it looks like his decision to wait in the wings to see if Edwards could keep the belt against Usman paid off big for him.
Burns even went so far as to claim that if the UFC didn’t line him up for the next chance at UFC gold he’d ask for his release from the promotion. Luckily for him, Dana White seems to like the idea, so it seems Burns will be sticking around.
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