Jorge Masvidal has confirmed he will make a return to the UFC in ‘April next year’.
Masvidal has not fought in mixed martial arts’ (MMA) premier promotion since he dropped a unanimous decision verdict to Gilbert Burns at UFC 287 in April last year and retired immediately after.
However, the 40-year-old revealed his intentions to return to the octagon on the latest episode of Jake Shields’ Fight Back podcast.
“I’ll be back in April next year in the UFC, we don’t have the opponent yet, hopefully by December we’ve got the opponent and April, Miami card,” Masvidal said.
Masivdal returns with the hopes of snapping a four-fight losing streak in the UFC.
Prior to his defeat against Burns, Masvidal lost to polarising welterweight contender Colby Covington in March 2022 via unanimous decision in an emotionally-charged bout.
Despite spending 25 minutes in the octagon, their bad blood was evidently not settled after Masvidal attacked Covington outside a Miami steakhouse weeks after the fight.
Masvidal was arrested by police and charged with aggravated battery/great bodily harm and criminal mischief.
The 40-year-old’s legal battle ended in November last year when he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour battery charge as part of a plea deal to have two further charges dropped.
Masvidal was also beaten twice by Kamaru Usman for the UFC welterweight championship in July 2020 and April 2021.
Their first encounter remains one of the best-selling UFC pay-per-views of all time as Masvidal stepped up on short notice to replace Burns in the main event of UFC 251.
A staggering 1.3 million fight fans tuned in to watch due to the lack of sport taking place during the Covid pandemic, but the bout proved to be a five-round snoozefest.
The rematch provided a significantly more definitive ending as Usman slept Masvidal with a thunderous punch in the second round, marking the first time ‘Gamebred’ had been stopped in the UFC.
After his retirement from the UFC, Masdival took on fellow cult hero Nate Diaz in a professional boxing fight in July but lost to the Stockton native via majority decision.
Although Masvidal’s recent outings in the octagon have not been happy ones, he remains the owner of the UFC’s fastest knockout.
The 40-year-old iced Ben Askren in just five seconds at UFC 239 when the latter, a wrestler by nature, looked to take Masvidal down from the get-go.
But Masvidal telegraphed Askren’s move to perfection and dealt a flying knee that left his rival frozen on the canvas.
As for Masvidal’s next opponent, ‘Gamebred’ gave no indication as to who that may be.
One member of the roster who he previously had a run-in with is British star Leon ‘Rocky’ Edwards, as the pair were involved in a backstage scuffle in 2019.
Masvidal and Edwards were slated to fight one another in 2021 before the former pulled out.
However, the chances of those two facing off now appear slim as Edwards told DAZN he will headline the UFC’s return to London in March next year.
Given Masvidal’s expectation of returning in April and fighting in his hometown, it effectively ends any hope of a bout against Edwards, at least for now.
