Jorge Masvidal, much like UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones, has been in a battle against the UFC as of late over the subject of fighter pay.
Fans may never get to see Masvidal step into the Octagon again, because the fighter says he is set for life and doesn’t have to fight again.
“I love to fight and I always get told don’t say that,” Masvidal said during a recent fan Q&A (via Damon Martin of MMA Fighting). “Because you know why? They expect me to do it cheap or damn near free. I love to compete in the sport that I do. But I’ve been doing it for a long time. I’ve been in the shadows studying, learning — what makes this guy be able to get that much money? That whole plan, we’ve been doing it for a while. We have a formula just like I do for fighting. I have a formula for the business side of it and if they don’t want to pay me what I’m worth, it’s cool. I’m set for life. I don’t have to fight. I fight because I love it.”
The fighter is still willing to compete this year, but Masvidal wants to be paid what he is worth first.
“God willing I’m going to fight this year,” Masvidal said. “What’s not gonna happen is I’m not gonna get played or underpaid. That’s for sure. I have a value, a formula we’ve come up with for what I’m worth and that comes off 16 years of doing this, of seeing the field in and out. I’m not some rookie. I’m not some guy handed the title for the first time in my life. I’m been in this position before in different organizations and stuff and we know how to calculate what I bring in. I want a fair share of what I bring in.”
If Masvidal does opt to end his professional MMA career and never compete again, it would end a seventeen-plus year run as an MMA fighter.
