Chael Sonnen recently completed his trilogy with Anderson Silva at Spaten Fight Night. More than anything, the event marked the Brazilian legend’s final bout in his home country. Additionally, it provides fodder for ‘The American Gangster’ to prep up and face Jorge Masvidal next. Despite trading barbs, Sonnen can’t help but feel some misgivings about the contractual situation of Jorge Masvidal.
‘Gamebred’ and Sonnen have beefed for some time. Recently, in a sitdown, Masvidal said Conor McGregor was afraid to face him. The Irish superstar Conor McGregor didn’t respond, but Chael Sonnen did. ‘The American Gangster’ made some serious accusations about the circumstances surrounding Masvidal’s retirement to explain why McGregor will not face ‘Gamebred.’
Did he forget he retired? Even though you retired cause you didn't wanna get cut, your contract is still running. Like you can't actually go somewhere else... I know the business but other people don't. They think you are out. They think you are done, but you didnt do what Nate did. You didn't actually finish off your contract. You were worried coming off of yet another loss that they [UFC] werent going to give you another fight to save face.Chael Sonnen via his Official YouTube channel (@ChaelSonnenOfficial)
‘Mac’ was to return in the weekend’s headliner against Michael Chandler at UFC 303 PPV in Las Vegas. Sonnen can understand him claiming to be a bigger draw than Chandler. But contractually, he is in a tough spot. Nevertheless, it remains a serious accusation from Sonnen to suggest that Masvidal retired to avoid getting cut by the UFC.
‘Gamebred’ retired after a unanimous-decided loss at the hands of Gilbert Burns at UFC 287. Chael Sonnen said Masvidal made a mistake by retiring. Now, he can only chase super fights against the likes of Nate Diaz outside the UFC in a boxing ring. Sonnen believed Masvidal would have more leverage had he finished off his UFC contract like Diaz did back in 2022. As such, Sonnen doesn’t see Masvidal vs. McGregor happening
Jorge Masvidal’s MMA Future: Can he fight Conor McGregor?
After a decision loss at UFC 287, the inaugural BMF retired from MMA, a costly move in hindsight. Just like Chael Sonnen puts it Jorge Masvidal had not worked through his UFC contractual obligations. He has now booked a return in the form of a boxing bout on July 6 in a Fanmio Pay-per-view headliner at Honda Center.
Following his “The Baddest Tour” pre-fight conference in Miami, Masvidal said he’d definitely return to MMA. McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) also was to make a mark in a five-round welterweight feature main event on June 29th. However, the longtime welterweight contender isn’t in the best of shape to be his opponent in the future.
Now, he will have to return to UFC against someone of UFC’s choosing if he ever wants to complete his MMA saga. Losing to Burns, former divisional king Kamaru Usman, and three-time title challenger Colby Covington removed Masvidal from the upper echelon. So, in all probability, he’d have to prove he can be a top-bill fighter for a future opportunity against McGregor.
Conversely, the Irishman recently became a part-time owner of BKFC; the battle of bare-knuckle promotions remains lucrative. He has also shown immense interest in cross-promo fights. Like the recent Bellator Champions Series: Dublin at 3Arena for the 2024 Bellator EUROPE 3. As free agents, McGregor vs. Jorge Masvidal can be a hard-hitting, stylistic matchup. It remains to be seen if that ever happens.
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