It’s fair to say that life has changed somewhat for Jorge Masvidal following his victory over Nate Diaz at UFC 244.
Masvidal (35-13 MMA, 12-6 UFC) may have kept the same energy throughout a career that has taken him from street fighter to Strikeforce fighter to UFC fighter to the official “BMF” of the game. But, while “Gamebred” has stayed true to himself throughout his career, he’s started to notice the world around him change since he became the UFC’s latest superstar.
Now, the man who struggled to get people to accept fights with him earlier in his career is the flavor of the month – and the subject of a host of big-name callouts.
Conor McGregor suggested he wanted to face the winner of Masvidal’s “BMF” title fight with Diaz at UFC 244 while, more recently, Masvidal’s name dropped from the lips of Nate’s older brother, Nick Diaz, who hinted at a possible return to the UFC to face the Florida native sometime in the future.
“You want to talk about baptizing my younger brother? That’s on you,” Diaz told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani. “I never had nothing disrespectful to say. But you don’t talk about baptizing my younger brother. So you’re already in a (expletive) position if you fight with me. You don’t talk about (expletive) baptizing someone’s brother. That’s my baby brother. You don’t talk like that to nobody.
“So who is riding on whose side? You want to say that, you want to do that, you want to walk, that’s on you. I can relate to you, that’s why I ain’t mad at you. But if you want to walk, that’s on you.”
Masvidal heard the interview but was left slightly confused as to whether the former Strikeforce and WEC welterweight champion was calling him out or not.
“Is he asking to fight?” he asked on ESPN’s “The Dan Le Batard Show” on Tuesday. “I was confused. Or are we going for a walk someplace?
“He’s asking for a fight? He’s asking for a fight or to go for a walk? Does he know who he’s asking for a fight, because I love to fight, especially when I get a little something on top of that.”
After more than a decade-and-a-half in the game, Masvidal is finally getting top dollar for his performances, and the 35-year-old says the tables have finally turned in his favor after years of being on the outside of the upper echelon, looking in.
With a possible rematch with Nate, a fresh matchup against his brother Nick, a potential superfight with Conor McGregor or a shot at the UFC welterweight title all seemingly realistic options for Masvidal in 2020, “Gamebred” appears to have a host of big-money options as he ponders his next move. And the Miami man said his final decision will come down to whichever matchup proves to be the most lucrative for his career.
“We don’t know who’s next, but everybody’s looking like cash symbols, cash money, to us right now,” he said. “The next person is going to be the one that puts the most zeros in the bank account.
“Everybody wants to call me out now. So it’s funny to me because these same guys, they didn’t want to fight me two or three years ago.”