Jorge Masvidal was not short on confidence after battering a UFC Hall of Famer nine years ago today.
The previous two-time UFC welterweight title challenger and BMF champion boasts loads of memorable wins on his UFC résumé.
But not lots of them can compete with Masvidal’s performance on today, January 28, in 2017.
‘Gamebred’ fought within the co-main event of a UFC Fight Night in Denver, which was headlined by Valentina Shevchenko submitting Julianna Pena via armbar.
Masvidal took home a Performance of the Night bonus for his incredible effort, but he was willing to sacrifice that $50k and far more with the offer he made Dana White moments after his win.
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Jorge Masvidal challenged Dana White to search out a welterweight who could beat him after ending Donald Cerrone
Masvidal had knocked out Jake Ellenberger and outpointed Ross Pearson in consecutive outings, so he entered the cage at UFC Denver riding high after starting his first winning streak in three years.
And his best display on that run was yet to return, because it got here on the expense of then-future UFC Hall of Famer Donald Cerrone.
‘Gamebred’ left the UFC president predicting potential title success for him down the road with the beatdown he placed on ‘Cowboy’ in front of the veteran’s home crowd.
Having almost finished things at the tip of round one, Masvidal knocked Cerrone out within the second with a relentless onslaught of punches that forced referee Herb Dean to intervene.
Masvidal was unsurprisingly high on self-belief after his third straight win, a lot in order that he offered White a $200k bet that he couldn’t discover a welterweight able to defeating him.
“My coaches know if it’s a giant fight, I’m going to be on the gym,” Masvidal said during his post-fight press conference after offering the bet.
“If they provide me some pretender, or one other actor, I don’t know, I won’t take it.
“That’s why I told Dana, if you happen to want me to fight, take me up on this bet: $200,000,” he continued. “You’ll be able to’t find no one within the welterweight division that may beat me. No person.”
Fortunately for Masvidal, the UFC president didn’t take him up on the offer. If he had, ‘Gamebred’ would have been down $200k, as he lost his very next fight to welterweight veteran Demian Maia via split decision.
That result was followed by one other setback, with Stephen Thompson getting the higher of Masvidal within the before his rise to superstardom within the UFC courtesy of a bumper 2019 contained in the cage.
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Jorge Masvidal retired after four-fight losing skid but is planning a UFC comeback
‘Gamebred’ returned from a layoff in style by reeling off three wins in a row to turn out to be one in all MMA’s top names.
After ending Darren Till in enemy territory, Masvidal’s record-setting KO against Ben Askren earned him a pay-per-view headliner against Nate Diaz at Madison Square Garden.
Masvidal has not had his hand raised since beating Diaz for the symbolic BMF title in November 2019, having retired following a defeat to Gilbert Burns in April 2023, which marked his fourth straight setback.
However the 41-year-old is seeking to make his comeback three years later and has the right venue in mind for it.
Masvidal is teasing something special for his comeback, which he claims could come on the UFC’s White House event this coming June.
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