Jorge Masvidal is ready to face the winner of the Gilbert Burns vs. Stephen Thompson fight.
Masvidal is coming off back-to-back losses to Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title and says he’s looking to return in the fall against any top-five opponent. His manager mentioned Nick Diaz and Colby Covington as possible options, but Diaz is targeted to return against Robbie Lawler while Covington will face Usman for the belt. With that, “Gamebred” says he wants to fight the winner of Burns-Thompson.
“I’d definitely like to fight the winner,” Masvidal said on the UFC’s betting preview show for UFC 264. “Final thoughts, if Gilbert gets overcommitted, I think I could see Thompson with a stoppage.”
Jorge Masvidal and Stephen Thompson did fight back at UFC 217 in November of 2017 where “Wonderboy” won a decision. Following that, Gamebred left the sport for a year-and-a-half and returned with a bang. Upon his return, he knocked out Darren Till, Ben Askren, and TKO’d Nate Diaz to get the title shot. He’s also a much bigger star now so there’s no doubt the rematch would make sense.
If it’s Burns who gets the win, it’s a fresh matchup for Masvidal as both men look to work their way up to a title shot. It would also be an anticipated matchup as it would be a good test to see where Masvidal’s jiu-jitsu is at, but it could also be a standup fight.
Regardless of who wins at UFC 264, it’s good to see that Jorge Masvidal is looking to fight again and will fight a top contender like Burns or Thompson. It’s unlikely he will get another crack at Usman due to him being 0-2, but he still wants to compete against the best and prove he’s an elite welterweight.