Jorge Masvidal Is The First Breakout Star Of The UFC On ESPN Era

Jorge Masvidal is making the most of the UFC’s deal with ESPN. 

The 34-year-old, who has been a pro since 2003, took 2018 off to work on a reality television show. That break came after Masvidal had a three-fight winning streak come to an end with consecutive losses to Demian Maia and Stephen Thompson. When he returned to action in the headlining bout of UFC on ESPN+ 5, Masvidal was the No. 11 ranked welterweight and a +180 underdog to the favored Darren Till. At the time Till was ranked No. 3 and a -220 favorite.

The fight ended abruptly at the 3:05 mark of the second round when Masvidal slammed a vicious left hand into the side of Till’s head. The force of the blow left the favored fighter falling to the mat unconscious. While Till was tended to by a team of cageside physicians, UFC commentator Dan Hardy reviewed Masvidal’s set up for the knockout blow with unabashed admiration.

Hardy pointed out that Masvidal used, a "chaotic entrance" to set up his left hand. Masvidal threw a jab with his right and moved his head to that side. While the jab was on its way, Till lowered his hands and left his head exposed, which allowed Masvidal to catch him cleanly with the left. In short, the knockout blow was no lucky punch. 

The incredible stoppage, which should be in the running for knockout of the year, earned Masvidal $100,000 in fight-night bonuses. 

Masvidal’s night should have been over after that fight, but before he could hit the showers and head back to his hotel, the victorious fighter was involved in a tussle backstage with Leon Edwards. During the brief altercation, which interrupted Masvidal's interview with ESPN, Masvidal caught Edwards with what he later described as a “three-piece with a soda.” The video of that skirmish has been viewed more than two million times on ESPN’s YouTube page.

In the days following the event, it seemed that more people were talking about Masvidal’s tussle with Edwards than were discussing his memorable knockout of Till. But the thing was, folks were talking about Masvidal. It didn’t hurt that Masvidal gave ESPN a second post-fight interview that was, let’s call it memorable. 

Clad in a white warmup suit and a black knit cap, Masvidal called Edwards a “hooligan,” “a scrub,” “jayvee,” and “a beta” before even addressing why he threw the “three-piece with a soda.” The reason Masvidal gave for throwing hands was that “this hooligan threatened my well-being. Maybe I didn’t look it because I’m pretty damn cold-blooded, but I was scared out of my mind.” 

If Masvidal was a hardcore fan favorite before the fight, he was edging toward stardom after all the happenings in London.

The win did not get Masvidal the title fight he wished for, but it did get him a matchup against Ben Askren on the UFC 239 pay-per-view card.

Askren did his best to sell the fight by trash-talking Masvidal at every opportunity. One of Askren's final jibes before the bout took place at UFC 239 was made during an interview with MMA Fighting.

"I think it's pretty easy," Askren said. "He's simple, right? He's got good hands but his wrestling's not great. His jiu-jitsu's not great. His strength is not great. His cardio's not great. So when you break it down like that, it becomes pretty simple."

As for Masvidal, he shrugged off Askren's taunts, telling CBS Sports that he had no interest in going back and forth with Askren.

On fight night, Masvidal was ranked No. 4, while Askren came in at No. 5. The odds favored the lower-ranked, but unbeaten, Askren. Askren, the former Bellator and One Championship 170-pound titleholder was a -230 favorite over Masvidal, who came in as a +185 underdog.

After the introductions, Masvidal was the picture of cool confidence. He leaned against the cage with his hands behind his back and a knowing smile on his face. As Ben Fowlkes from "The Athletic" described, Masvidal looked like "he's waiting in front of your apartment for your Uber to pull up so he can beat the hell out of you."

When referee Jason Herzog signaled for the fight to start, Masvidal paused for a second, took a couple of shuffle steps to his right and then literally sprinted toward the center of the octagon and leaped into the air as Askren was lowering himself for a takedown attempt. The result was that Masvidal's knee caught Askren and knocked him out cold. With Askren stiff on the mat and Herzog moving in as fast as he could to call the fight, Masvidal landed two additional strikes to his unconscious foe. 

Once Herzog got things under control, Masvidal dropped to the ground and taunted Askren. The only people who know what Masvidal said at that moment are Masvidal and Herzog. Askren, who was stiff on the canvas, didn't hear a single word of that one-sided conversation.

The time of the knockout was a UFC record five seconds. The quickness of the stoppage and how it happened would have been enough to land Masvidal on highlight reels throughout the world, but his memorable evening at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas was just beginning. 

Masvidal shined when the cameras were on him at the post-fight press conference. Not only did he call the two blows he landed after the fight was clearly over "super necessary," but he detailed his disdain for Askren. 

"There's not too many people that I've disliked, I have over 50 pro fights, and he's one of them," Masvidal said. "He talked about my manhood, talked about my culture, my ethnicity, where do we draw—Why do certain people get to do stuff online? So you can do anything, everything is cool before a fight, you're allowed to do and say whatever you want... talking about people's religions, wife, even kids, that's cool? But after a fight I'm not allowed to showboat and rub it in your face so you and guys like you can see it and be like, 'Maybe I don't talk so much shit because when I cross one of these real (expletive), they're going to make me pay for it. They're going to embarrass the (expletive) out of me.'"

Masvidal then added that while their fight might behind them, the grudge he holds against Askren still burns. 

"And it's not over for Ben either," said Masvidal. "He still has to deal with me. If I see him at Whole Foods, I'm a still slap that dude up, 'cause I don't like him."

Masvidal believes that he deserves a shot at welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't, but that's a fight the UFC should not hesitate to make. The matchmakers should have already sent fight agreements to both fighters. Scratch that, UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby should personally fly to the homes of the two men and get them to sign those deals. And if he can't do so without a struggle, Shelby should refuse to get off either man's couch until he gets that task accomplished.  

UFC president Dana White once implored fighters to build themselves into stars. Masvidal has done that and he deserves to be rewarded for accomplishing that feat after 16 years in the fight game. If the UFC does not give Masvidal a title shot, the promotion is squandering a huge opportunity, one it will regret.

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