Jorge Masvidal Playing Title Role at UFC 291

‘I’m really excited for this fight.’

Welcome to The Weekly Takedown, Sports Illustrated’s in-depth look at MMA. Every week, this column offers insight and information on the most noteworthy stories in the fight world.

Jorge Masvidal will return to the Octagon on Saturday for UFC 291.

But it is not to compete. The retired fighter will present the ceremonial BMF title to the winner of the Dustin Poirier–Justin Gaethje bout, which is apropos since he is the first and only one thus far to win that belt.

“It had to be me,” says Masvidal, who defeated Nate Diaz in November 2019 in the first BMF title bout. “There’s only one person who I’ll step aside for, and that’s Donald Trump. If Donald wants it, I’ll hand it to him and tell him to make the country great again.”

Political beliefs aside, the nonpartisan feeling among fight fans is that the bout between Poirier and Gaethje is going to be nonstop violence for as long as it lasts. This is a rematch from their bout in 2018, which Poirier won.

Over the past five years, Gaethje has since added far more strategy to his striking, adding even more intrigue to the long-awaited rematch. Adding to the stakes is that the winner should be next in line for a lightweight title shot.

“These are two of the best in the world,” says Masvidal, who is Poirier’s teammate at American Top Team. “Gaethje is so much more polished. That makes him even more dangerous. He has such better control now. But that’s going to play into DP’s game. And I know I’m biased—I’ve known DP for a long time. He’s still making little changes in his game that make him so much better, and those little pivots allow him to land these big shots.

“I’m really excited for this fight, especially the offensive grappling. Dustin is a good grappler defensively, so I’m interested to see what happens in their short grappling exchanges. And when it comes to the blows, this fight is going to be worth every f------ cent.”

Masvidal (35–17) enjoyed a phenomenal career. He stepped away after suffering his fourth straight loss in April. But he still trains and, at 38, has not completely ruled out a comeback.

“I’ve slowed down a bit, mainly with my reflexes,” says Masvidal. “I still love fighting. I’ll always love fighting, and a nice practice is still one of my favorite things to do. There’s still a lot of guys I can beat. Sometimes I’ll have a practice at American Top Team and I’ll feel great, and I’ll have that seesaw about coming back or not. It’s like, f---, bro. I signed up to beat the best in the world. That’s what I always wanted to do. But I’ll stay retired if I can’t do that.”

Given his skill set, another potential option for Masvidal is boxing. He has only one pro boxing fight on his résumé, which was a victory in 2005.

“If the UFC gives me permission, maybe some boxing is in my future,” says Masvidal. “I would definitely love to see how I’d do. Because of my discipline in martial arts, boxing comes the most natural to me. Could I have made a living off jiujitsu? Probably not. I’m not flexible or great on my back. Wrestling, I wasn’t going to be a world medalist. Boxing always came naturally to me, so maybe I’ll do some boxing in the future.”

Masvidal’s current focus is his Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA promotion. Their next card will take place Sept. 2, and it is headlined by former UFC heavyweight champions Junior Dos Santos and Fabricio Werdum.

“JDS versus Werdum fighting bareknuckle?” says Masvidal. “Are you f------ kidding me? It’s going to be amazing.

“My whole life is this sport. I’ve been around it all my life, and it’s what I want to do every day. We’re going to have a great card in September. People don’t want to miss it. And my next goal is to discover the future stars of this sport.”

Masvidal always adds a certain element of excitement whenever he is in involved in the UFC. That will be present whenever he appears at UFC 291.

“I’m grateful for this life, I’m grateful for the UFC, and I’m grateful for God,” says Masvidal. “This Saturday, it’s going to be a great night.”

Bellator Lightweight Grand Prix suffers major loss

The first major loss of the Bellator Lightweight Grand Prix took place outside of the cage.

Due to what Bellator described as “medical reasons,” AJ McKee is out of the Bellator Lightweight Grand Prix only days before his scheduled bout against Patricky “Pitbull” Freire in their quarterfinal matchup in Japan.

Speaking with Sports Illustrated last Thursday while he was in Memphis for a celebrity boxing event, McKee expressed confidence that he was going to defeat Freire.

“I’m prepared to go 25 minutes, even if it doesn’t go that long,” he said. “We’ll see if Patricky can handle this fire—I’m coming in hot.”

McKee (20–1) split his two fights against Patricky’s younger brother, the great Patrício “Pitbull” Freire, and he was looking forward to having a victory over both the Pitbull brothers.

“Many people have fought both brothers, but no one has successfully beaten both of them,” he said. “That’s something I look forward to doing.”

Since losing the featherweight title to Patrício in April 2022, McKee has fought exclusively at lightweight. He won his first two fights, controlling each bout despite not landing a finish. In last week’s conversation, McKee discussed whether he still had the power to finish opponents at lightweight like he did at featherweight.

“It’s just a matter of time,” he said. “I was just talking with my dad about that the other day, and I said that I haven’t knocked anybody out or finished anybody in a while. That’s something I’m definitely cognizant of, and I’ll keep continuing to put in the work to be stronger, faster and better. But trust me, it’s coming.”

Clearly, that first knockout at lightweight will have to wait.

McKee was replaced in the tournament with Rizin star Roberto “Satoshi” de Souza, whom McKee defeated on New Year’s Eve. It ruins any plans of McKee meeting reigning lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov in the tournament finals, unless McKee is an injury replacement later on in the tourney.

His absence is a major loss for the tournament, especially this weekend’s card in Japan.

Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.