Jorge Masvidal goes off on UFC over fight negotiations: ‘If I’m not worth it, let me go’

Another day, another disgruntled UFC star.

Jorge Masvidal took to Twitter and issued a series of cryptic tweets expressing frustration over his recent fight negotiations, presumably aimed at his UFC bosses. The promotion’s “BMF” champion most recently fought in November, defeating Nate Diaz in the UFC 244 main event. Since then, he has campaigned for fights with welterweight champion Kamaru Usman as well as rival Colby Covington, but Masvidal remains without an upcoming booking.

Previously, Masvidal has said that it was Usman’s demands that were holding up negotiations; now, he’s apparently taking aim at the men who write the checks.

On Friday, Masvidal began his salvo by writing, “If I’m not worth it let me go” and tagging the UFC’s broadcasting partner ESPN.

Masvidal followed up by questioning why he should be expected to take less money than he made for the Diaz fight just because he would be in the position of challenger in a matchup with Usman. He also told the UFC to “stop playing us and the fans” in regards to how the promotion is handling its finances during the COVID-19 pandemic and responded to fans reacting to his initial tweet.

Should Masvidal be serious about cutting ties with the UFC, he would join former two-division champion Henry Cejudo and light heavyweight champion Jon Jones as fighters who have expressed some frustration with the organization’s payouts. While Cejudo, 33, only hinted that a massive fight purse could have changed his mind about retiring after his recent bantamweight title defense against Dominick Cruz, Jones has been far more vocal in challenging the UFC.

Following negotiations falling through for a heavyweight bout with Francis Ngannou, Jones has stated that he will relinquish his heavyweight title and dared the UFC to release him.

Masvidal has been with the UFC since April 2013. His previous three victories over Diaz, Ben Askren, and Darren Till propelled him up the welterweight rankings and made him one of the UFC’s most visible stars over the past 12 months. He reminded fans of his recent history in another series of tweets:

Shortly after Masvidal’s flurry of tweets, UFC President Dana White responded to the “BMF” champion’s demands.

“I think everybody wants more money,” he said. “I think everybody wants more money in all these other sports... and Masvidal says, ‘You’ve got enough money to buy islands.’ Let me repeat for the (expletive) billionth time: I did not buy an island, OK? We did not buy an island.

“The reason we’re doing the [‘Fight] Island’ is so that fights can go, and these kids from Europe and the rest of the world can make money and can work. So I think a lot of people are really, I don’t know if it’s frustrated and confused, or whatever the situation is right now. These other sports are trying to figure out negotiations how people will play for half the money they would play for before. Some of these other sports might not even go this year, the way things are looking. People are losing their minds.”

Check out a video of White’s UFC 250 media scrum. White’s comments about Masvidal begin at the 3:00 mark.