Four Potential Opponents For Jorge Masvidal
Jorge Masvidal has 20 fights in the UFC already and he has recently become one of the biggest starts in the sport. In his most recent fight ‘Gamebred’ was shockingly knocked out when he squared off against the welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman at UFC 261.
Masvidal isn’t a man who stays down for long and he proved that on the night as he bounced back to his feet to give a very humble post-fight interview. We expect him to bounce back impressively in his fight career too, the question is who will ‘Street Jesus’ fight next?
Non GamStop betting offers at https://www.nongamstopbets.com/ have a few exciting options but we had to do our own investigation on who Mavidal might fight next. Here is four fighters ‘Gamebred’ could face next.
Nate Diaz or Nick Diaz.
The Diaz Brothers are two of the biggest stars in MMA and a fight between either of them would be a great score for Masvidal, fight fans and the UFC. Jorge Masvidal vs. Nate Diaz would be a rematch of a fight we first saw take place at UFC 244 when the inaugural BMF title was on the line. Masvidal was victorious on that night as he put a beating on Diaz throughout three rounds before the fight was waved off due to a cut suffered by Diaz. The stoppage was somewhat controversial given the fact Diaz cuts in pretty much every fight and seemed to be working his way back into the bout ahead of the championship rounds.
There has been much talk about a potential rematch that was thought to be done before both men went in different directions. Diaz is now set to face Leon Edwards at UFC 263. Win, lose or draw against the Englishman, a fight against Masvidal still makes so much sense.
If for some reason Nate Diaz decides to go in a different direction, a fight with his big brother seems like the best option. Nick Diaz is a former Strikeforce champion who is due to make his comeback to the sport later this year. The 37-year-old hasn’t fought since dropping to a decision defeat to Anderson Silva in 2015 – the result was later changed to a no-contest. Diaz hasn’t recorded a win inside the Octagon since outpointing BJ Penn all the way back in 2011.
Despite this, a fight with Masvidal makes so much sense, partly due to the fact that the BMF titleholder has already beaten his brother. In the aftermath of his loss to Kamaru Usman at UFC 261, Masvidal revealed he was open to squaring off against Nick Diaz next, he said. “If Nick does want to fight towards the end of this year, what can I say, I’m here. You want to do right for your little brother? Let’s go. I heard a lot of interviews that he wasn’t too keen on what I did to his little brother. Neither would I. I feel for Nick in that situation. I know what I’d wanna do if somebody did that to my little brother. So, let’s go.”
Stephen Thompson
Masvidal next fight could potentially be another rematch. ‘Gamebred’ lost a close fight against Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson at UFC 217 in 2017 and has been determined to run it back ever since.
Thompson has been a mainstay at the top of the welterweight for years and seems to be on the cusp of another shot at UFC gold. ‘Wonderboy’ twice fell short in his bid to become a champion when squaring off in successive bouts against the former 170lb king, Tyron Woodley. If he beats Gilbert Burns at UFC 264, ‘Wonderboy’ could well be next in line for a shot at Usman.
Don’t be surprised to see Thompson skip over that fight in favour of a mega-money match-up against Masvidal. As we said earlier, he’s one of the biggest stars in the sport at this point and a fight with ‘Gamebred’ could actually be more worthwhile than a title shot. We could see Thompson make the same call Dustin Poirier did by opting to chase a money fight with Conor McGregor rather than the chance to become undisputed champion.
Leon Edwards
Jorge Masvidal vs Leon Edwards is one of the most appealing fights we can see happening in the near future. The two welterweight contenders have a long and bitter history that would make for a terrific build-up and an even better fight.
For those who don’t remember, both men fought at UFC London in 2019. Masvidal sensationally knocked out Darren Till in the main event and Leon Edwards outpointed Gunnar Nelson over three rounds in the co-main event of the evening. Masvidal and Edwards seemed destined to fight next, especially after they engaged in a post-fight brawl during which ‘Gambred’ famously hit ‘Rocky’ with a combo he named the “three piece, with the soda”. For some reason that fight didn’t happen and both men went their separate ways. Despite that, fan interest in the match-up is still at an all time high. If Leon Edwards is able to get by Nate Diaz on June 12 we could well see the Englishman square off against Masvidal next.
Masvidal has retained his star power despite suffering successive defeats against Kamaru Usman. He has many options in terms of his next opponents and who he fights simply depends on what direction he wants to take his fight career. If Masvidal wants to be involved in money fights he’ll look to pursue either Nick or Nate Diaz. If Masvidal wants to work his way back towards another title shot, he’ll look to get matched up with Thompson or Edwards in fights that are more meaningful but less lucrative. These are just four likely names but in reality there are probably several more fighters we have had to leave off the list who could just as likely square off against Masvidal next.
Who do you want to see Jorge Masvidal fight next?
