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The chances of seeing Jorge Masvidal inside an MMA cage or boxing ring look pretty slim right now. But if you think that means Masvidal doesn’t want to remain deeply involved with combat sports, you would be mistaken.
Just weeks after announcing his retirement from competing in MMA, Masvidal spoke about how he believes promoting combat sports is his next big venture in life. The 22-fight UFC vet currently promotes boxing and bare-knuckle MMA through his Gamebred Promotions brand and works with MMA promotion iKON FC. With the hours of training and time that it takes to be a UFC fighter out of the way, Masvidal believes he is now able to fully focus on being a promoter.
“Since I don’t fight and I’m not at the gym four, five hours every day giving it all I got, I’m giving [promoting] all I got,” said Masvidal in a recent interview with ESPN MMA. “I’m so involved in this. I’m so submerged in this. It’s what I’ve been doing for the last three years and what I’ll be doing for the next 20 years. Just promoting the fights, and giving a piece of myself back to the fans in the form of violence. But not me getting in the cage, but me orchestrating the violence.”
Jorge Masvidal’s Bare-knuckle MMA brand set to return Friday
Jorge Masvidal’s bare-knuckle MMA promotion, Gamebred Fighting Championship, is scheduled to return this Friday from the FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida. The card is set to be headlined by UFC and Bellator vet Roy Nelson, who will take on heavyweight talent Dillon Cleckler.
Lower on the card, notable vets like Sean Soriano, Markus Perez, Emiliano Sordi, and Anthony Njokuani are also scheduled to appear.
The bare-knuckle MMA brand from Masvidal has been absent for more than a year. The promotion first emerged in 2021, with three events taking place within the year. While that specific show has not been around for some time, Masvidal has remained active by promoting four boxing events and keeping involved in iKON FC.
Jorge Masvidal speaks honestly about returning to MMA
Many retirements in MMA turn out to be, well, not actual retirements. Because of this, questions about a potential return to the sport are bound to float around names like Jorge Masvidal.
The 38-year-old was asked if he would ever come back to MMA. He provided a very balanced answer to the question, stating that as much as he wants to come back, he knows he has regressed physically in ways that limit his ability to compete.
“I’ll never say I can’t come back,” he said. “But here’s the honest truth: I’m still fast, I’m still explosive. I have good endurance, I know so much more about the sport now than when I started. But there’s just a couple of things that, as you get older, slow down … My reflexes and reaction time took a big dip. It’s not where it used to be when I was 35 even.”
Masvidal retired at UFC 287 last month after suffering a unanimous decision loss to Gilbert Burns. The fight was his fourth consecutive defeat against a top welterweight. He had fought as a pro since 2003 and was on the UFC roster for nearly a decade. It was hard for him to walk away from competing, especially since he still has the fire to do so. But he is certainly weighing the pros and cons of if he were to return.
“When you ask me about coming back to fighting, my heart, body, mind, and soul, all of it wants to do it. But do I want to be now like a stepping stone?”
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