Photo by Michael Owens/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC
Jorge Masvidal is the latest fighter to speak out about his UFC contract and unwillingness to compete unless properly compensated, but it’s nothing the promotion hasn’t seen before.
According to UFC president Dana White, the promotion has been dealing with fighters like Masvidal for 20 years. Masvidal has gone as far as asking for his UFC release amidst stalled contract negotiations and even took to ESPN’s SportsCenter to question the organization’s revenue sharing, which is much lower than other major sports.
Despite all of Masvidal’s frustrations and public outcry, White doesn’t seem too bothered by the recent course of events. That’s because the UFC president has a long track record of dealing with Nick and Nate Diaz, who he believes carries a similar approach to the fight game as Masvidal.
“It’s not a surprise, this is what we do. I mean we have been doing this for 20 years. People who want to fight, get fights, and people who don’t, don’t. And, [Gilbert Burns], is the number one ranked guy in the world. Number one vs. the champion,” said White. “This kid wants to stay busy. These kids who go on runs like Burns is on and want to keep fighting and stay active, they’re healthy, it’s the smartest thing they could do.
“It doesn’t surprise me that Masvidal, Masvidal is very much like the Diaz brothers. He beats to the sound of his own drum and when he wants to do something, he does it. It’s not very surprising.”
It’s funny that White should mention Nate Diaz as he is the last fighter Masvidal has encountered inside of the Octagon. The two battled it out for the “Baddest Motherf—ker” belt back at UFC 244 this past November, with “Gamebred” winning via third-round TKO to finish off the biggest year of his storied MMA career.
While Masvidal has become one of UFC’s most popular fighters White isn’t willing to drop everything to come to a solution with “Gamebred.” After all, the UFC frontman has been doing this for years and has somehow worked around the drama surrounding the promotion’s biggest draws.
“Listen, I’m putting on fights every weekend for the next 10 years. If you want to fight, call us. We will offer you fights and if you don’t want to take them, you don’t have to,” he explained. “It’s always been that way. Everyone is acting like this is some new f*****g drama that just popped up and has never happened in the history of the sport. This happens all the time, non-stop.”
Masvidal seems ready to sit out as long as it takes to get what he wants, but White has been groomed for these situations since he become UFC president so many years ago. We’ll have to wait and see how this entire ordeal plays out, but it seems like things will get worse before they get better.
What say you, Maniacs? Is White playing with fire or should he wait for Masvidal to come back around?
Let’s hear it!