[autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] has called it an MMA career.
Among his home city fans Saturday at Kaseya Center in Miami, Masvidal announced his retirement following his UFC 287 unanimous decision loss to fellow welterweight contender Gilbert Burns.
“I love you, everybody here,” Masvidal said during his in-cage interview with Joe Rogan. “Thank you, everybody, for watching. This is where I started my career. It’s been a long 20 years – 50-something fights. Sometimes your favorite basketball player ain’t got that 3-pointer no more. Sometimes your favorite quarterback loses that rifle.
“I don’t feel the same when I get in here no more. It’s been 20 long years. I love all of you. UFC came here 20 years ago and it inspired me to chase this dream for 20 years, 50-something fights later. Hopefully I inspired somebody here to go fight for theirs no matter what it is.”
Jorge Masvidal has retired in Miami.
Happy trails @GamebredFighter 🫡t#UFC287 pic.twitter.com/Dw2ymoyCoM
— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) April 9, 2023
Masvidal, 38, finishes with a 35-17 professional MMA record that extends back to May 2003. Prior to his MMA debut, however, Masvidal carved out his spot in combat sports notoriety as a member of the backyard street fight competitors made famous by the late Kimbo Slice.
For the two decades that followed his MMA launch, Masvidal competed for the UFC, Strikeforce and Bellator, among other promotions. A Strikeforce merger import, Masvidal made his UFC debut in April 2013 when he defeated Tim Means by unanimous decision.
Over the next six years, Masvidal had ups and downs. In March 2019, a massive knockout win over Darren Till in England kickstarted a late and somewhat unexpected run to stardom. The victory set him up for the signature moment of his career, a 5-second flying knee knockout of rival Ben Askren at UFC 239 in July 2019.
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The win skyrocketed Masvidal’s popularity and positioned him for a UFC anomaly, a “BMF” title bout against Nate Diaz at UFC 244 in November 2019. Masvidal beat Diaz by doctor’s stoppage due to a cut. The win eventually earned him a crack at then-welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 251 in July 2020. Masvidal took the bout on short notice and was defeated by unanimous decision.
In his next fight at UFC 261 in April 2021, Masvidal competed in a rematch against Usman. That time, Usman knocked out Masvidal with a hellacious right hand. It was the first time Masvidal had been stopped with strikes outside of a previous doctor’s stoppage.
The losing skid for Masvidal extended to three at UFC 272 in March 2022 when he lost a unanimous decision to friend-turned-enemy Colby Covington. In the weeks following the bout, Masvidal was arrested for an alleged assault on Covington outside of a Miami steakhouse. Covington told police Masvidal verbalized during the attack his disdain at comments Covington made about Masvidal’s family in the lead-up to their fight. Masvidal still faces two felony charges; court proceedings are ongoing.
The loss Saturday to Burns was Masvidal’s fourth in a row, which put him on the longest skid of his professional career.