Jorge Masvidal has reacted after UFC president Dana White claimed fighting in his promotion was not a career and merely an opportunity. Speaking post-fight at UFC on ESPN 11 White tried to address the ongoing pay disputes he’s having with fighters like Masvidal and Jon Jones, he said.
“My number one goal always is that I don’t want to layoff any of my employees and I don’t want fighters inactive and unable to compete. You know when you are a professional athlete, you have a very small window of opportunity. A very limited amount of time. You know, we get into all this money sh*t and stuff that is going on right now. Everybody acts like this is a f*cking career. This isn’t a career. This is not a career. This is an opportunity. Anything can happen in any given moment. Your knee could blow out, your back, your this, your that. Umm, Covid-19 you know? Who the hell knows what is coming down the pipeline. So you have to take every opportunity that you can get.”
Masvidal wasn’t a fan of what White said so he took to his YouTube channel to respond.
“I want to address something actually cause of the Dana White thing. Dana White said the other day and maybe you can explain this, he said this is not a career, this is an opportunity,” Masvidal said. “I’ve been doing this for 16 years, s**t I’ve had a lot of opportunity, huh? That’s crazy. So, it’s not a career Dana White, that’s interesting to know man. I really think sometimes we don’t see eye-to-eye on anything you f*****g you say, bro. How is this not a career? It’s crazy.”
‘Gamebred’ went on to say despite their disagreements he holds no ill will towards the UFC boss who he understands is just doing his job.
“He’s my co-worker. It’s not like I’m going to go hang out with him anywhere anytime soon or anything like that. I don’t have any animosity towards him but I also don’t really like him too much either,” he added. “He has to do his job which is to generate the most money for his company. I got to do my job which is to generate the most money for myself. So, you see where that clashes? We are not always going to see eye-to-eye but I don’t think he’s a devil or this evil f*cking person. I just think he is doing his job and I have to do mine.” (Transcribed by BJPENN.com)
Do you agree with Jorge Masvidal? Is fighting in the UFC a career?