Jorge Masvidal Expects a Title Shot If He Wins at UFC 211

Jorge Masvidal spoke with MMAjunkie ahead of his fight with Demian Maia at UFC 211. Some highlights are below:

On a potential title shot if he wins: “If this is not the No. 1 contender fight, you know that the politics and social media and who looks more like a boyband member have completely taken over. Completely. Fighting will no longer be about who can fight more, but about who’s spending more time on social media. Not for nothing, but Maia is the No. 1 contender by far. I know it – six-fight winning streak, the way he’s handled guys. He’s the No. 1 contender. If God willing, I beat that dude, and I’m not the No. 1 contender, the sport’s taken a dramatic turn for the worse.”

On titleholders dodging fights: “That’s something scary, what the future looks like. That’s why I say I’m making the UFC great again. Because you’re not going to see me dodging nobody. I didn’t dodge nobody on my way to the title. I called out the two toughest guys that I thought were in the division and I’ll continue to do that when I have that belt, God willing, if I have that wrapped around my waist.”

On his value in the Octagon: “I’m a real treat to those people who like violence, who like fighting. If you like fighting in that other niche market that’s starting to happen now a lot, that is more based on what you’re saying on social media and what you look like, well this isn’t gold for you. Don’t tune into my fights. But if you like fighting because you’re one of those old school fans and you were tuning into the bareknuckle, back in the day, Randy Couture, no-time-limit fights, then keep watching me, because that’s what I do. When I got into fighting, it wasn’t about exposure back then, it was just, ‘You’re going to find out who’s the toughest dude in the world.’ Guys weren’t there to be famous and rich, you just wanted to compete and fight. It’s an awesome cherry on top that I get to make some money out of this. I love that aspect of it. I’m not here for the likes on social media and stuff like that, Im here to (expletive) (expletive) up.”

On Maia: “He tapped into that gear the moment he signed the bout agreement. I don’t have no ill will toward Maia, because outside of that, I think he’s a cool person. I’ve known him from the competition, I’ve heard a lot of good things about it. But come our date, I’m going to try to explode his face. That has nothing to do with him stopping me from being a multi-millionaire. I want to break his face no matter what. I don’t have to talk to him or about him. I think he’s a very tough individual for taking this fight. He probably didn’t have to take this fight, there were other fights he could have taken. He took the wrong fight, and my hat’s off to him for signing on the dotted line.”