Jorge Masvidal is still awaiting word on who he’ll fight next in the UFC, but he’s definitely interested in a showdown with one-time title challenger Gilbert Burns.
With the UFC’s first and only “BMF” champion all but giving up on a potential fight against Conor McGregor, he’s also answered a call from Burns, who has been asking for the matchup for several weeks. In fact, Burns even offered Masvidal the chance to face him in a standup war by stipulating that he’d willingly sign a contract guaranteeing that the Brazilian grappler won’t attempt a single takedown in their fight.
Masvidal responded that he’d be happy to fight Burns, if offered by the UFC. However, he said that he didn’t want Burns to surrender any weapons, even though that would mean that the fight would ultimately hit the ground.
“I don’t want Gilbert to sign no contract that says no takedowns,” Masvidal said on The Fighter vs. The Writer. “Do your game, my brother. Follow the path that got you to this point.
” I know that he is a world champion at [Brazilian jiu-jitsu].. My grappling is improving and I am trying to improve it. So do everything that God has allowed you to do and blessed you to do.”
Burns was respectful in calling out Masvidal. He doesn’t think a fight between them requires unnecessary trash talk, when it could be spoken for itself.
While Masvidal has engaged in plenty of bitter rivalries in the past, he’s appreciated the way that Burns approached a possible fight with him, especially after he spent months trying to coax McGregor into facing him yet heard almost nothing from the Irish superstar.
“Definitely, a fight which interests me,” Masvidal stated about Burns. “Before the Conor fight came up, that’s the one that called me out and I was like, this is a guy that comes to fight.
“The whole world doesn’t know him but they will, because he comes to fight. He’s going to try and choke you out, knock you out, and just has a good style. I enjoy the fight .”
Before Masvidal commits to anything, he first has to clear up some legal hurdles in front of him in the form of assault charges pending from an alleged altercation with former teammate and opponent Colby Covington, stemming from an incident that happened in March.
Masvidal remains cautiously optimistic that he’ll be able to compete again before the end of 2022, but he doesn’t want to make promises to any opponent and not deliver in the end.
“Once I have resolved some legal issues on [are settled],, I will set a date,” Masvidal stated. Masvidal stated that this is another reason we aren’t setting dates at the moment. “I’ve got some legal issues I have to resolve [are settled], then we will lock it in .”
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