Jorge Masvidal isn’t closing the door on a future return to MMA.
On April 8, Masvidal lost against Gilbert Burns by unanimous decision, extending his losing streak to four. After Burns had his hand raised, ‘Gamebred’ took off his gloves and announced his retirement. It didn’t take long for fans and analysts to question whether the Miami native would ever fight again.
During an interview with Marc Raimondi of ESPN MMA, Masvidal had this to say about ending his retirement in the future:
“I love this sport so much, I love it so much. I cried for many days after I retired. Not because I’m so hurt, just because I love this sport. Since eleven, twelve years old, this is all I did… It’s so much love and passion in my heart, so I’ll never say that I’ll never come back, you know, because I love this sport so much…”
Masvidal’s last win was in November 2019 against Nate Diaz. Since then, the Miami native has lost against Kamaru Usman x2, Colby Covington, and Burns. The 38-year-old has continued to compete at a high level but doesn’t believe he has what it takes to win UFC gold.
Watch Jorge Masvidal’s interview with Marc Raimondi below:
Jorge Masvidal details how he knew it was time to retire
Jorge Masvidal has always been consistent about wanting to retire if he couldn’t compete for a UFC title. Although ‘Gamebred’ has only lost to elite 170-pounders in the UFC, there are certain declines in his skills that he’s noticed. During the same interview, Masvidal details what led to his retirement by saying:
“Here’s the honest truth. I’m still fast, I’m still explosive, I have a good endurance, I know so much more about the sport then when I started, but there’s just a couple things as you get older, they slow down… I’ve been feeling from like 34 to like 37 that in that department, and solely in that department, my reflexes and reaction time took a big dip. It’s not where it used to be even when I was 35.”
Masvidal continued by saying:
“When you ask me about coming back to fighting, my heart, body, mind, soul, all of it wants to do it, but do I now want to be like a stepping stone because I don’t have that word. I see the punches and I react right away and I know exactly what you’re gonna do and where you’re gonna be next, so it’s slightly slowed up in the smallest of ways.”
Regardless of whether he fights again or not, Masvidal will still be present in the combat sports world. ‘Gamebred’ has done a phenomenal job as a promoter, leading to several highly talked about events, including Gamebred Fighting Championship 4, which will be headlined by Roy ‘Big Country’ Nelson on May 5.
Only time will tell if the former UFC title challenger decides to undo his retirement and fight again.
