Jorge Masvidal has been planning his UFC return for some time after initially retiring in 2023.
When he walked away from the promotion following UFC 287, ‘Gamebred’ was still a huge star in the sport following his breakout year in 2019.
Three finishes over big names, and being a part of the inaugural BMF title fight, helped take Masvidal’s stock to whole new heights before he suffered a run of defeats.
In a recent social media post, his former rival Nate Diaz claimed ownership over the BMF belt by sharing his thoughts after the title was recently defended at UFC 318.
With a rematch between Masvidal and Diaz being a pitched matchup for the UFC’s 2026 event at the White House, there is still unfinished business between them.
Jorge Masvidal attempts to remind Nate Diaz of what happened the first time that they faced off
Despite the fact that the main event of UFC 244 was ended via doctor stoppage, Nate Diaz clearly doesn’t believe that he left Madison Square Garden without the BMF title.
Diaz claimed that he could have turned the fight around after he lost all three of the opening rounds to Jorge Masvidal before the doctor stopped the fight due to the cuts that he had suffered above his right eye.
It was an incredibly unceremonious way to crown the first BMF champion, leaving the feeling that this chapter between the two opponents wasn’t finished.
Diaz went on to earn some revenge via a majority decision when they faced off for a second time in a boxing ring in July 2024.
In a recent social media post, Diaz claimed that while he respects Max Holloway, the BMF champion is carrying his title around.
Masvidal disputed this, having never lost the belt which became vacant when he retired, leading it to move down a weight class to the lightweight division where it remains today.
“Think you a little confused”
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Jorge Masvidal has regularly pitched a different rival for his UFC return
While a return to the Octagon to complete his trilogy of fights with Nate Diaz would be huge, there’s another chapter that Jorge Masvidal is keen to finally close.
He spoke to Submission Radio several months ago about wanting to face former welterweight champion Leon Edwards.
The two men haven’t met inside the Octagon but they did share a heated interaction backstage in London back in 2019 that is still yet to be resolved.
“If the UFC wants to make (this return) happen, this is what they do. Give me the Leon fight and then after that I fight whoever has that damn belt, man, let’s go.”
With Edwards coming off of back-to-back losses now that he’s no longer the champion, this long-awaited grudge match may make more sense than ever before.