Getty Jorge Masvidal
Don’t expect to see UFC superstar Jorge Masvidal step inside the Octagon against Michael Chandler as “Gamebred” recently shut down Chandler’s fight challenge.
Chandler is coming off a “Fight of the Night” defeat to Dustin Poirier at UFC 281 on November 12 and he spoke with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto around a week after the bout. “Iron” said during the interview that he wanted to face off against Masvidal for the company’s “Baddest Motherf*****” (BMF) belt – the ceremonial title that Masvidal captured a few years back.
Masvidal and Nate Diaz battled for it at UFC 244 in November 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. And Gamebred hoised the BMF strap by beating Diaz via doctor’s stoppage.
“You tell me who the BMF is right now in the UFC?” Chandler said. “If we did a poll right now, who’s the baddest mother fudger in the UFC?
“Tell me that wouldn’t get the juices flowing of the entire mixed martial arts world,” he continued. “Michael Chandler versus Jorge Masvidal for the BMF belt. ‘The Rock’ walking in with it over his shoulder and then handing it to me 15 minutes later.”
Masvidal Dismissed Chandler’s Challenge, Called Him a ‘Quitter’
Well, count Masvidal out. In response to Iron’s challenge, Gamebred labeled Chandler a “quitter” and someone who wasn’t worthy of challenging for the BMF title.
“Michael Chandler’s a quitter, man,” Masvidal said to MMA Fighting this week. “That’s like the first thing to being a BMF. I saw him fight my boy Will Brooks, and Will Brooks hit that motherf***** so hard he just quit in the middle of the [fight]. He turned back, shook his head and was like, ‘Nah, I’m done fighting.’
“BMF my a**. That’s the first rule of being a BMF — you can’t be a quitter. You might lose, but you can’t give up on yourself. You can’t quit. That conversation for the BMF belt? No, it ain’t happening. C’mon Chandler: I know you don’t have a good perception of the world, but that’s not happening.”
Masvidal Said Fighting Chandler ‘Doesn’t Do Anything’ for His Career
Masvidal went further, saying that competing against Chandler — a lightweight — “doesn’t do anything” for his career. He said that if they did fight, Masvidal would turn Chandler “into dust.” But, he wouldn’t get any credit for it.
“That fight doesn’t do anything for me in the 170 pound rankings, or [getting to] the belt,” Masvidal said. “If he comes up to the weight class and I hit up with a jab, and he turns into dust — he disintegrates, like one of those old statues that disintegrates to dust — you know what people are going to say? They’ll say, ‘Yeah, you’re supposed [to do that].’
“But let it be a little bit of a fight, or anything like that. I don’t see any risk-reward with this fight. Me killing this guy doesn’t do anything for me, or my career, so I really don’t care about it. He’s not really a pay-per-view seller either. I’m not saying I won’t entertain it in the future, but to actually say there will be a whole event [built around] it, or whatever he’s plotting in his head? Nah, probably not, bro.”