'The moolah's gonna talk, man': Jorge Masvidal open to lightweight return to challenge Khabib
UFC 'BMF' Jorge Masvidal can boast one of the most impressive welterweight resumes in recent UFC history but says that he could be tempted to return to the lightweight fold to challenge champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Masvidal had been expected to challenge Kamaru Usman for the UFC's 170lbs title in July but uncertainty remains as to whether this will come to pass given the circumstances surrounding the coronavirus pandemic currently calling a halt to most major sports around the world.
Nurmagomedov also faces an anxious wait to determine if his scheduled lightweight title defense against Tony Ferguson will proceed as planned next month but if it does, and if the Russian retains his crown, Masvidal says he could be tempted to drop down once again to the lightweight division - but it won't be easy.
"The moolah’s gonna talk, man," Masvidal said via his YouTube channel this week. "55 is such a battle with my weight. Once I’m at around 172 to 173 pounds, I’m at around five percent body fat already, six percent body fat. So I just don’t have a lot of room to play with and still get to 155.
"It's a lot of water, it's always been a lot of water. That doesn’t leave me the night of the fight in the best shape that I could possibly be, like how I compete at 170 and have that explosion, I can explode a little bit more and for longer. At ‘55 it would be a little different.
"But that’s not to say I couldn’t win one and that I couldn’t make the weight. I would just have to be rewarded so motherf**king handsomely for me to drop down to ‘55 and compete with anybody."
Masvidal fought the first seven bouts of his UFC career in the lightweight division where he went 5-2 but it wasn't until he transitioned to his more natural weight class of 170lbs where he saw a noticeable uptick in performances - particularly in his last three wins against Nate Diaz, Ben Askren and Darren Till.
Also on rt.com Relocation? Behind closed doors? Exploring UFC's options for Khabib v Ferguson should New York fight be canceledA return, he says, would be redemptive.
"I would love to do it because I felt I never got my fair due shot at 155," he explained. "I beat a lot of top class competitors before I came to the UFC at 155. They never gave me a shot to fight a top-10 guy.
"It wasn’t until I started fighting at 170 they gave me top-5 and top-10 guys. I never got I felt my fair due shot at ‘55. I beat a lot of good guys when I was down there, in the UFC as well.
"So whatever, if they were to cough up that money I’d be in a hurry to get down there and show what I’m worth."
