Jorge Masvidal, the well-known MMA fighter, has decided to call it quits after his recent fight against Gilbert Burns at UFC 287. The match took place in Miami, and it was in front of Masvidal’s home city fans where he announced his retirement.
Jorge Masvidal Calls it Quits
“I love you, everybody here,” Masvidal said in-cage interview with Joe Rogan. “Thank you, everybody, for watching. This is where I started my career. It’s been a long 20 years – 50-something fights. Sometimes your favorite basketball player ain’t got that 3-pointer no more. Sometimes your favorite quarterback loses that rifle.
“I don’t feel the same when I get in here no more. It’s been 20 long years. I love all of you. UFC came here 20 years ago and it inspired me to chase this dream for 20 years, 50-something fights later. Hopefully I inspired somebody here to go fight for theirs no matter what it is.”
After a storied career in the fight game, @GamebredFighter is calling it a career
THANK YOU JORGE 🙌 #UFC289 pic.twitter.com/XrpDQiTEpl
— UFC (@ufc) April 9, 2023
Jorge Masvidal, a seasoned MMA fighter, has announced his retirement from the sport at the age of 38. With a professional record of 35 wins and 17 losses, Masvidal has been in the MMA scene since May 2003.
Before his debut in MMA, Masvidal was already making a name for himself in combat sports as a street fighter. He was part of the backyard street fight community, popularized by the late Kimbo Slice.
Masvidal competed in various promotions in the last 20 years, including UFC, Strikeforce, and Bellator. He made his UFC debut in April 2013, defeating Tim Means by a unanimous decision.
Gilbert gets the W!!@GilbertDurinho takes the unanimous decision over Jorge Masvidal in our #UFC287 co-main pic.twitter.com/hd0oG6GMwE
— UFC (@ufc) April 9, 2023
Masvidal experienced both highs and lows over the course of the next six years. However, his career took an unexpected turn towards stardom in March 2019 when he knocked out Darren Till in England. This victory paved the way for one of the most memorable moments of his career, a 5-second flying knee knockout of his rival Ben Askren at UFC 239 in July 2019.
Masvidal’s win against Darren Till in March 2019 set the stage for his career-defining moment: a 5-second flying knee knockout against rival Ben Askren at UFC 239 in July 2019. The win made him hugely popular and led to a “BMF” title bout against Nate Diaz at UFC 244 in November 2019, which Masvidal won due to a doctor’s stoppage. However, his shot at the welterweight championship against Kamaru Usman at UFC 251 in July 2020 ended in defeat by unanimous decision.
In April 2021, Masvidal had a rematch against Usman at UFC 261. Unfortunately, Masvidal was knocked out by Usman’s powerful right hand, marking the first time he had been stopped by strikes, aside from a previous doctor’s stoppage.
Jorge Masvidal’s losing streak continued at UFC 272 in March 2022, where he suffered a unanimous decision loss to his former friend, Colby Covington. Unfortunately, things took a dark turn when Masvidal was arrested weeks later for allegedly assaulting Covington outside a Miami steakhouse. Covington reported that Masvidal expressed his anger towards the comments Covington made about Masvidal’s family before their fight. Masvidal is still facing two felony charges, and the court proceedings are still ongoing.
Adding to his string of losses, Masvidal’s defeat to Burns marked his fourth loss in a row, making it the longest losing streak of his professional career.
