MMA superstar Jorge Masvidal suffered his third defeat in a row last weekend, and an ESPN analyst doesn’t “understand” “Gambred’s” performance.
Masvidal fought his bitter rival, Colby Covington, during the UFC 272 main event on March 5, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The bout went all five rounds and “Chaos” came out on top, besting Masvidal via unanimous decision. Coupled with his two back-to-back losses to UFC welterweight king Kamaru Usman, Gamebred hasn’t won a fight since his “BMF” effort against Nate Diaz in November 2019.
The difference-maker in Covington vs. Masvidal was Chaos’ ability to take the fight to the ground and control the pace on the feet. After the fight, Masvidal said his wrestling was “flat,” which largely led to his defeat.
During a recent episode of “First Take,” Stephen A. Smith shared his thoughts on Masvidal. Smith, a self-proclaimed “huge Masvidal fan,” questioned why Gamebred wasn’t “ready for a wrestling match.”
Smith said via MMA Junkie:
I’m a huge, huge Masvidal fan. I think he’s great for the sport because he’s got knockout power in both punches, he can obviously use that knee very well and he has improved his wrestling. But Colby Covington showed that he’s on a different level from a wrestling standpoint, and from a stamina standpoint. One of the things that I paid attention to coming into this fight is something that Colby Covington said. Because he knew him and they were former best friends and roommates turned enemies, Covington said, ‘Masvidal trains for his fights; I live this.’ What he was talking about is he is always in shape. He’s never out of shape. He’s renowned for his condition and the pressure he’s able to apply and how he never lets up because he keeps on coming. I saw Masvidal gutsy and survive the five rounds, but while he was waving Covington on to come on, ‘Let’s get some more.’ He was literally using two security personnel to lean on because that’s how exhausted he was. Covington looked like he was just starting. He was that energized. The guy is in phenomenal shape, he’s an outstanding wrestler and Masvidal admitted that his wrestling was flat. How was it flat coming into this fight knowing this guy as well as you know him and knowing what he was going to try to do to you, and how much you supposedly hate him? How you were not ready for a wrestling match, I don’t understand. It’s inexplicable.
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Gamebred Likely Won’t Fight for UFC Gold Again After Losing to Chaos
It’s unclear where Masvidal goes from here. He’s undeniably one of the biggest stars in the sport and he recently signed a new deal with the promotion, which is touted as one of the most lucrative contracts in UFC history.
At 37 years old, Masvidal’s chances of fighting for UFC gold again have greatly diminished with the loss to Covington. What is most likely is that fight fans may see Masvidal compete in big fights with other stars of the sport, like Conor McGregor, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson and Nate Diaz.
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Analyst Confused By Jorge Masvidal’s Performance: ‘I Don’t Understand’