'Count me in': Jorge Masvidal's bid to help fight Australian bushfires
Jorge Masvidal has many opponents he wants to line up in 2020 inside the octagon, but the UFC’s ‘Baddest Motherf***er’ has turned his attention to a bigger cause before his next fight.
Masvidal enjoyed an incredible 2019 winning all three of his bouts, which included the knockout of the year against Ben Askrin, and picked up numerous awards for his standout performances.
'BAD IDEA’: Dana White's massive warning for Conor McGregor
But despite talks of bouts with ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor or Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, he has set his sights on a bigger issue during his trip to Australia in February.
Having heard about the out-of-control bushfire devastation in Australia, Masvidal has offered to spend time in the affected areas to help out where he can.
I’ll be in #Australia in February and would like to help. Proceeds from my visit will go to help but I also want to physically help put out the fires #theresurrection https://t.co/OMuOkfxMcY
— Jorge Masvidal UFC (@GamebredFighter) January 4, 2020
“I think could I could be of great help, Australia has been so good to me….then I hear about this fire,” he told Yahoo Sport Australia.
“Even if it’s just me running back-and-forth and I could save somebody’s life or home. I am in. It is no problem for me, thank goodness I wasn’t born with that fear thing.
“I am a hard worker and why can’t I go put out some fires. If I can save somebody’s home, count me in.”
Don’t think [Conor] wants to fight me: Masvidal
Masvidal’s insane 2019 inside the octagon has seen him rise to the top of the UFC pecking order.
Dana White recently said it would be a “bad idea” for McGregor to seek out Masvidal when he could just wait.
And Masvidal thinks McGregor will heed White’s advice.
“If this man [Conor McGregor] is crazy enough to sign a contract then we are in…I don’t think he wants to fight me. But I don’t think we’ll end up fighting, I think we’ll end up getting that dude that hangs out in trees, sounds like an owl,” he said.
Masvidal is referring to Welterweight Champ Usman.
The ‘BMF’ started calling Usman an ‘owl’ after the champ asked ‘who’ Masvidal was during an interview, alluding to the noise an owl makes.
The champ’s comments didn’t sit well with Masvidal.
“You don’t have to respect me, just don’t disrespect me,” he told Yahoo Sports Australia.
“This guy was trying to be funny, I don’t know why. But you don’t know who the ‘Fighter of the Year’ is and he happens to be in your division? You just look so stupid and cringe.”
However, despite Masvidal’s insistence McGregor might not want to fight him, he believes his full-throttle style of fighting would bring out the best in the Irishman.
“I don’t know what is playing through Conor’s mind, but he knows I am not going in there to win a points battle, to get my hand raised on a decision. He knows I want to end it,” he said.
“If we get in there, it’s to end him, it’s to hurt him.
“And a lot of fighters like knowing that this guy is coming to hurt me, so this is the motivation to get me into shape.”
Masvidal predicts Cowboy v McGregor
Masvidal claims there is a ‘93 per cent’ chance he will attend the Donald Cerrone and McGregor bout and has also offered his verdict on how each fighter can win.
“Conor is great out of the gate, one of the best I’ve seen. Just hones in with a great radar,” he said.
“Cowboy is great when he a dual-threat...when he is using his Ju-Jitsu. And just becoming a massive threat everywhere, that’s the Cowboy that beats Conor.
“If not, a flat-footed-footed, right-handed Cowboy doesn’t win against Conor.”
Masvidal will have watched the bout, potentially ringside, by the time he arrived in Australia.
