Jorge Masvidal on Welterweight Move, Yoel Romero Street Fighter

Jorge Masvidal on Welterweight Move, Yoel Romero Street Fighter

On a roster that boasts more than 500 fighters, it’s easy for even talented athletes to get overlooked. Jorge Masvidal has been slow to get the credit he be

May 10, 2016 by Duane Finley
Jorge Masvidal on Welterweight Move, Yoel Romero Street Fighter
On a roster that boasts more than 500 fighters, it’s easy for even talented athletes to get overlooked. Jorge Masvidal has been slow to get the credit he believes he’s earned, and the chip on his shoulder has never been sharper.

Masvidal has just become more vocal about a few things. That, in addition to his willingness to exchange on the feet, has elevated his profile with MMA fans.

And still, Masvidal wasn't getting the fights he feels he deserved.

That issue, paired with restrictions put on weight cutting, led to Masvidal leaving behind the traction he made in the lightweight ranks to try his hand in the welterweight division. The 170-pound fold is loaded with talent. Masvidal wants to fight them all.

“There are so many guys, man,” Masvidal said. “I don’t want to be fighting these up and coming guys. I want to fight the best out there. I am a competitor. Anyone that has seen me fight knows I can fight. Why am I still fighting up and comers? Why am I not fighting equally matched competitors or guys that are supposedly better than me?

“I didn’t get that chance at lightweight. Hopefully I can make some noise at welterweight and get it cracking, you know?”

Masvidal wants the toughest challenges available. He’ll get his wish at Fight Night 88, when he faces off with Lorenz Larkin. Larkin isn’t currently ranked in the elite tier of the weight class, but the former Strikeforce veteran has made an impact with three solid performances since entering the division last year.

Masvidal is happy to be facing strong competition. He has zero interest in fighting anyone who doesn’t bring a challenge to the cage.

“That’s the hard part for a guy like me,” Masvidal said. “Some guys when they fight bums they do well and some guys when they fight good guys they excel, they do well, they grow. Me personally, I don’t want to fight a bum. I’m just going out there to compete. I will go out there kick his ass and do whatever I have to do to put him away. But it’s not the same as if I was fighting a top ranked guy.”

Masvidal has built a solid name for himself competing inside the cage, but his street fighting-filled backstory has become the stuff of local legend in South Florida. Masvidal forged his reputation for being a hard-nosed fighter on the backyard circuit. He’s left that scene behind, but he still knows a thing or two about how things play out in the no-holds-barred world of bare knuckle combat.

If there was one person he’d like to see make a run through his old backyard stomping grounds, it would be one of his current teammates. 

“A guy that I would like to see in a street fight because I know how dangerous he is and I know how explosive he is would be Yoel Romero,” Masvidal said. “I would like to see him in a backyard setting. He would motherf***** kill somebody! I have been around him for many years. I know what he can do. It could be an open weight class with him. Just throw him in the backyard and he could fight heavyweight. He would be a problem for anybody.”