Jorge Masvidal plans on separating himself from the rest of the welterweight pack.
It’s been over a month since Masvidal delivered a five-second flying knee knockout over Ben Askren that went viral. The Miami native’s popularity has continued to increase since ― so much so, that he can’t even go outside in his hometown.
“Yeah, life has been on turbo since the flying knee,” Masvidal told Submission Radio. “I mean, before this fight I was known after the [Darren] Till fight in my city, but it wasn’t pandemonium. It’s literally pandemonium right now. It’s tough to get something. Like, if you send me to the store to get the milk, I might be an hour, man. I might be there an hour getting lost in transit, taking pictures.
“So, it’s nuts, man, I definitely feel the boom ― especially for me to feel it in my city, because Miami doesn’t really move too much by MMA. So, for me to feel it from them, it says a lot.”
“Gamebred” got back on the radar this year with a knockout of Till that sent shockwaves around the combat sports world, mainly because of who he did it to. It was followed up with the Askren knockout that many believe could be the greatest of all time.
Masvidal’s goal now is to get UFC gold and continue to turn the lights off on his opponents as he did to his last two foes.
“Getting the belt, defending it as much as I possibly can, and truly separating myself from the pack,” Masvidal explained. “I want to end people when I fight them. I want to disconnect them. Whether I like them or not, that doesn’t matter.
“I want to separate myself from the pack, I want to show the world [that] all these 170-pounders are over there, every single one of them are over there, and I’m here all by myself. And you don’t have to believe me, just watch and see. It’s either gonna happen or it’s not, but I’m going for everything I got in my soul to do it. I got a little bit of money now, but every time I step in that cage I go for broke, man. It’s not gonna change.”
Masvidal and his team wanted either a title shot next or a money fight with Conor McGregor. However, both seem unlikely at this point. There’s also been talk of a potential Nate Diaz fight, especially if he comes out on top against Anthony Pettis at UFC 241.
Regardless of who Masvidal fights next, he needs to be paid.
“It’s gonna take a lot of money to get me back to fight, cause I want to get paid, man,” he said. “I haven’t gotten paid 16 years professionally. So, by the time they give me that little upper echelon money, I need it, man. Everybody knows my name in this sport, why can’t I get paid? You know what I’m saying?”