Jorge Masvidal earned plaudits from many for not only facing Kamaru Usman, but for his performance as a whole.
Masvidal stepped in on six days’ notice when he fought Usman for the welterweight title at UFC 251 this past weekend in Abu Dhabi.
Although he would go on to suffer a unanimous decision defeat — his first loss since 2017 — the stock of “Gamebred” certainly increased given the circumstances.
Atlas: Powers That Be Testing Are Testing Masvidal
Esteemed boxing trainer and commentator Teddy Atlas was one of many impressed.
He gave Masvidal an inspiring speech during a recent episode of his podcast and believes it’s still within his destiny to win a first world title.
“You earned the right to take care of your family. And congratulations on that,” Atlas told Masvidal. “Really, really from my heart. I believe that it’s still your destiny for you to win a world title. I believe that sometimes you have to be tested to see if you deserve that destiny. I think that, in my way of looking at things, your destiny in this time was to take care of your family. To get an opportunity after all these fights, after all the hard work, after doing it the right way, after earning it — to get a chance to fight for the title.
“But when you got the chance, the powers that be — whatever you believe in — said, ‘okay. He got this chance of destiny to do something that everybody wants to do — take care of their family. Now, to do the rest of it. To take care of his soul for the rest of his life, we have to see how he behaves here. If he behaves here, properly, then, he will get an opportunity to fight for the title and fulfill that destiny.’ That’s how I feel.”
Masvidal was left somewhat speechless afterwards and jokingly called for Atlas to be in his corner from now on.
“Man. Ouch. I need to have you in my corner, Teddy,” Masvidal responded with a laugh. “We’ll whip the checkbook out, Teddy. How much is it gonna cost? Let’s be frank.”
Masvidal has been campaigning for a rematch since the defeat, and even believes 15 days of preparation is all he needs to beat Usman. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he ended up getting one within the next year.
