Bellator Middleweight champion, Johnny Eblen discusses teammate Jorge Masvidal’s return to fighting.
Masivdal officially retired in April of 2023 after dropping a decision against Gilbert Burns, marking his fourth loss in a row. It was clear that the original BMF champion had lost a step, even admitting so himself and seemed an appropriate time to retire in front of a roaring support in his hometown of Miami.
However, like many fighters, it seems that Jorge Masvidal is not done with combat just yet and is set to test the waters in boxing. ‘Gamebred’ is set to take on Nate Diaz next month in Las Vegas and will be promoted by Happy Punch after the UFC had given the green light.
Jorge Masvidal backed to make successful boxing move
Talking with The AllStar, fellow American Top Team fighter, Eblen, discussed Masvidal unretiring and believed it was a good step and could add to his already lengthy resume.
“I think he misses it, and I’m glad he’s getting his feet wet again,” Eblen began. “Especially in boxing, I think it’s gonna be a great avenue for him to continuing his legacy and his journey in martial arts, and also just stay relevant, you know? When you build such a big name and fall off the face of the earth — I mean, not that he did, but like, not being as active fight-wise, it’s not as exciting.” (H/T MMA Mania)
Eblen claims that despite being 39-years-old and Masvidal having an extended time off, the former title challenger will make a smooth transition to boxing.
“He has his fight promotion, which is doing really well,” Eblen added. “He has a lot of things going on. I think him jumping back into fighting, especially in boxing, is gonna be huge because of his name and he’s gonna stay relevant.”
“And also, he’s gonna surprise a lot of people. That dude has hands, and he’s f—ing good, man. A lot of the problems he had in MMA was people wanted to take him down. Now we’re boxing, you can’t take anybody down. You gotta strike with the guy.”
How do you think Jorge Masvidal will do in boxing?