Jorge Masvidal has a lot of things going for himself outside the octagon because of his exciting fight career, the fastest KO in UFC history, as well his business acumen.
And now, promoter, the promoter for Jorge Masvidal’s iKON FC which debuted this year having their first show January 22nd going onto their sixth now.
Masvidal, who today spoke with Mike Heck of MMA Fighting about his new promotion, upcoming iKON FC events and fighters. He also talked about a some fighters who are calling him out, and a potential Gilbert Burns or Michael Chandler fight?
While he hasn’t fought since his third straight loss to Colby Covington in March of this year, he has had many opportunities to choose from, from fighters calling him out, to potential “money” fights. But Masvidal has not seemed to take an interest in them.
Despite being the third highest paid athlete in the promotion!
And with that comes responsibility to the promotion to deliver, and to himself to get the biggest fights possible.
Which a popular fighter in the division has been calling him out, Gilbert Burns.
But when interviewer Mike Heck asked him about his potential fight with Burns he may have gave mixed signals saying, “from my end this fight was offered but never officially, and I always shut it down cause I couldnt fight“.
And “I never said I would fight anybody in November or December, and I said if I’m ready maybe I can go January, if everything is right, well I wasnt ready and I told them that in mid-November.
Masvidal believes that it was the UFC maybe who didn’t properly relay the message, “I dont know when they decided to tell Gilbert that I am not taking the January fight. This guy loses his sh*t like I promissed him a dance”.
Assuming that “dance” means “fight”, he added that, the only dance I promised was in March or April, whenever Leon fights, I’ll be ready by then”.
Masvidal said a contract was sent to Burns for around the dates he wanted but Burns refused to sign cause he wanted to fight in Brazil, according to him.
But admits to wanting to fight him cause he has a “nice” number next to his name, Burns who is #5 and Masvidal #11.
In regards to the BMF belt he stated if he would ever defend it after Chandler, and so many other fighters have called for it saying, “I put that belt up numerous times, there is one belt I gotta get out there, then this belt, I put whatever I got up“. Vaguely addressing the question.
Also,
he quickly dismissed Chandler as a potential BMF contender telling the interviewer how he isn’t a BMF because he quit in a fight to his friend Will Brooks. This is a fight in his Bellator career back in 2014 where he lost in the 4th round by TKO.
Calling him a quitter in that fight and how you can’t quit on yourself to become a BMF.
When the topic of Leon Edwards most recent interview he did on The Breakfast Club came up where he addressed that their backstage “3 piece and a soda” incident isn’t over and that if he sees Jorge it’s on sight, Masvidal didn’t seem to buy into his antics.
Referring to Edwards as a “dork” and “a dear in headlights” when the incident between them happened.
Masvidal simply addressed that his interest in fighting him now is because of “the belt wrapped around his waste”
Catch the full interview here.