The callout that seemingly changed the career of Jorge Masvidal

MMA news
Jorge Masvidal, Nate Diaz, Joe Rogan, Israel Adesanya, Floyd Mayweather
Image via @ufc on Instagram

UFC welterweight Jorge Masvidal was voted 2019 Fighter of The Year by multiple outlets including Forbes and CBS Sports.

The Miami native had an absolutely spectacular year in 2019, which saw him go 3-0 with all three wins coming by way of Knockout/TKO.

Not only did ‘Gamebred’ put together a perfect record this past calendar year, but he did so against top ranked contenders in Darren Till, Ben Askren and Nate Diaz.

Despite his immense success, it would have been very hard to predict such a stellar year from Masvidal back in 2018. After all, Jorge did not compete once in 2018 and was coming off a 2017 year where he went 1-2 inside of the Octagon.

After suffering a lopsided decision loss to Stephen Thompson at UFC 217, Jorge Masvidal would reemerge on Twitter in January of 2019 with the following message for former UFC welterweight title challenger Darren Till.

“Darren Till I hear you having the same probs I am trying to find someone to fight you in your backyard. I love fighting in other peoples backyards. I’m game if UFC can make it happen.”

Till would accept Masvidal’s challenge and soon after the fight was booked to headline March’s UFC event in London.

Jorge Masvidal (35-13 MMA) would ultimately go on to defeat ‘The Gorilla’ by second round knockout at the event, this after landing a thunderous punch.

Jorge Masvidal, Darren Till, UFC London, UFC rankings
Image: @ufc on Instagram

‘Gamebred’ would follow up that performance by scoring the fastest knockout in promotional history (5 seconds) over Ben Askren at July’s UFC 239 event in Las Vegas.

The Miami product would cap off his sensational year by taking home the promotions BMF Title after scoring a TKO victory over Nate Diaz at UFC 244.

Looking back now, it would seem that Jorge Masvidal’s decision on January 14, 2019, ultimately helped spawn one of the greatest years from any fighter on record.

‘Gamebred’ now has a bevy options for his next fight including a potential welterweight title bout with Kamaru Usman, a big money fight with Conor McGregor or a potential Zuffa boxing match with Floyd Mayweather.

Who would you like to see Jorge Masvidal fight next? Sound off in the comments section PENN Nation!

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com January 1, 2020

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