(Courtesy of TMZSports)
Jorge Masvidal is nearing two decades as a professional fighter and he’s ready to get paid like one of that top athletes in the world.
Though Masvidal has been fighting professionally since 2003, it’s only in the last year that he has ascended to the upper reaches of mixed martial arts.
A blistering 2019 saw Masvidal knock out Darren Till, record the fastest knockout in UFC history (his five-second knockout of Ben Askren), and capped it with a UFC 244 Pay-Per-View topping stoppage of Nate Diaz at Madison Square Garden.
Now he’s aiming for even bigger fights, but not the traditional ones. While his resume would surely put him in line for a shot at the winner of the upcoming UFC 245 welterweight championship main event between titleholder Kamaru Usman and challenger Colby Covington, Masvidal hasn’t appeared all that interested in either fighter.
Laying out his plans for 2020, Masvidal glossed over Usman vs. Covington, telling TMZ Sports that his ideal plan for the coming year includes a UFC fight with Conor McGregor and a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, who said he has plans to come out of retirement.
The last time Mayweather came out of retirement was to box McGregor. The Irishman reportedly garnered roughly $100 million for that endeavor. Though Masvidal simply loves to bring the violence to his fight, he’s also at a point in his career when he realizes the need to make hay while the sun is shining.
Masvidal’s star power is still rising and he intends to take full advantage.
“It’s time for me to get paid and I’m gonna get paid motherf—ers,” he proclaimed. “I’ve been doing this for a long time and I’m getting paid, whether it’s boxing, it’s MMA. The next one is gonna be the next biggest check and so on.”
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Jorge Masvidal believes he can beat Floyd Mayweather
While McGregor primarily represents a payday to him, Masvidal assures everyone that he isn’t simply an MMA guy that thinks he can box and collect a check by facing Mayweather. He’s been boxing for a long time and believes he has the skill to hang with Mayweather.
“One of my first loves was boxing. And then I fell in love with wrestling. And then UFC came about,” he recounted. “I can box my ass off. I’m not saying I’m a better boxer than Mayweather, but man, I’m gonna be in there with bad intentions trying to hurt him. I’m not gonna fade in the eighth or ninth round. I’m gonna be there for the whole night.
“Mayweather has done so much, I can never discredit that guy. If he wants to fight someone who is gonna come give it his all, try to execute him and get him out of it, that’s the only thing I’m trying to do is turn his lights off… that’s me man.”