Coach Mike Brown discusses Jorge Masvidal's potential UFC return, outlines possible matchups for ex-BMF champ: "He has that itch"
Mike Brown has chimed in on Jorge Masvidal's potential UFC comeback. Brown, who's long coached Masvidal at the world-renowned ATT (American Top Team) camp in Florida, also proposed a few ideal opponents for the combat sports megastar.
Masvidal made his MMA debut in May 2003 and UFC debut in April 2013. 'Gamebred' notably captured the UFC's inaugural BMF title with a win against fellow MMA icon Nate Diaz in Nov. 2019. The Miami native subsequently competed for the UFC welterweight title in 2020 and 2021, losing both times to then-champion Kamaru Usman.
That was followed by defeats to Colby Covington in March 2022 and Gilbert Burns in April 2023. Masvidal announced his retirement from MMA after losing to Burns. He then clashed against Diaz in a professional boxing bout in July 2024 and suffered a razor-thin majority decision defeat.
During a recent appearance on UFC middleweight Bo Nickal's Nickals and Dimes podcast, Masvidal suggested that he's set to end his MMA retirement and return to the octagon in Miami in March 2025.
Watch Masvidal's announcement below:
Speaking to MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn, Brown indicated that he was impressed by how good of shape Masvidal was in when he returned to the gym, particularly his "wrestling shape" because he jumped right in and wrestled with ATT's best.
Brown explained that Masvidal's boxing camp was in Vegas, so he hadn't seen him during that camp. He recounted that the ex-BMF champion was focused on boxing and looked good against Diaz. He even felt that Masvidal deserved the judges' nod in their boxing matchup. In regard to the Floridian's UFC comeback, he stated:
"He didn't get out of shape. He's focused, and yeah, he's ready. He has that itch and wants to do it again. He's, obviously, a big star. And there's a lot of matchups that, I'm sure, people want to see. And there's a lot of fights I'd like to see."
Moreover, Brown seemed to suggest that he'd like to see Masvidal against big-name stars rather than up-and-coming contenders, perhaps against fellow former BMF champion Justin Gaethje and the Diaz brothers.
Brown noted that there are probably "20 fights" he'd like Masvidal in. He further underscored that 'Gamebred' is very exciting, fun to watch, great on the mic, incredibly skilled, and has a vast array of weapons.
Catch Brown's comments below (12:35):
Daniel Cormier advises Jorge Masvidal against MMA return
Former two-division UFC Daniel Cormier echoed the sentiments of certain sections of the MMA community by seemingly disapproving of Jorge Masvidal's comeback plans. The UFC Hall of Famer asserted that Masvidal (35-17 MMA, 12-10 UFC) spent most of his athletic prime as "a middling fighter," but, to his credit, found a way to ultimately ascend to stardom toward the end of his UFC stint.
Cormier highlighted that Masvidal had a star-making year with wins over Darren Till, Ben Askren, and Nate Diaz in 2019, but then lost his next four fights to Usman, Covington, and Burns. On that note, 'DC' insinuated that people might not care about the 39-year-old Masvidal's fights as much as they did back in 2019:
"Do you still care? Do you care like you did in 2019?"
Catch Cormier's comments below (4:16):