Getty Jorge Masvidal & Kamaru Usman
Jorge Masvidal’s stock is low for some fight fans, but former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping believes those individuals are “fickle.”
Masvidal is currently riding the worst losing streak of his 35-16 professional mixed martial arts career, dropping his last three matches in a row. In 2019, Masvidal became one of the biggest names in the sport after earning the promotion’s fastest-ever KO and then winning the UFC’s “Baddest Motherf*****” ceremonial belt.
Since then, however, he’s been defeated by former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman twice. And most recently, he was bested by Colby Covington via unanimous decision in March at UFC 272.
Because of the losing streak — which includes a devastating KO to Usman when Masvidal vyed for “The Nigerian Nightmare’s” welterweight belt for a second time — some have said Masvidal’s best days are behind him and that he’ll never contend for UFC gold again.
But, in a recent video on his YouTube channel, Bisping reminded fans that Masvidal’s losing streak is courtesy of two men who currently hold the No. 1 and No. 2 rankings in one of the UFC’s most stacked divisions.
“The 2019 run of Jorge Masvidal was incredible,” Bisping said. “He knocked out Darren Till. He knocked out Ben Askren and scored the quickest knockout ever in the UFC history, and then beat down Nate Diaz — became the BMF. But then he lost three in a row, two to Kamaru Usman, one to Colby Covington.
“And for some reason, MMA fans – they are so quick to write people off. They are so fickle. Granted, we are only as good as our last fight inside the Octagon, But come on, he only lost to Kamaru and Colby, the two best fighters on the planet in welterweight until Leon Edwards came along.”
“The man can f****** fight,” Bisping said.
Gilbert Burns Accused Masvidal of Ducking Him, Masvidal Denied the Claim
No. 5-ranked 170-pound fighter Gilbert Burns campaigned for months to welcome Masvidal back to the Octagon. And on November 14, Burns took to Twitter to accuse Masvidal of ducking him.
“Just letting everyone know that @ufc offered me @GamebredFighter 3x First time was for Nov 12,” Burns’ tweet reads. “He said he needs more time, second time for Dec 10 he said he was going to to fight me and now he just said no again! so I guess the B from his BMF belt doesn’t stand for bad.”
The tweet prompted a fiery response from Masvidal, who said in a video that he had never accepted a fight with Burns.
Burns is now linked to a fight with division staple Neil Magny at UFC 283 on January 21, according to a report from ESPN.
Bisping Said Masvidal Will ‘Fight Everybody’
Well, Bisping seemingly believes Masvidal over Burns. In the same YouTube video, Bisping pointed to “Gamebred” being a man who would take on anyone.
“The thing about Masvidal and the thing that everyone respects is that he’ll fight everybody,” Bisping said. “He will — he tried fighting me. He’s a natural fighter and he’s one of those guys that’s cut from that old-school mentality. He’s not an athlete. He’s not one of the best wrestlers, he’s not one of the best kickboxers – but he’s one of the best fighters. He has got [a] fighter’s heart and mentality and brain.
“He’s as game as they come.”