It’s been three years since Jorge Masvidal walked away from the UFC, and retirement has hardly looked like retirement. The former welterweight title challenger has fought just once since then, losing a boxing match to Nate Diaz, while pouring most of his energy into building Gamebred FC. Now that gamble is starting to pay off.
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DAZN, the same platform that has spent years backing Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing, has now signed a broadcast deal with Masvidal’s bare-knuckle MMA promotion, giving the 41-year-old something he never had during his UFC run: a combat sports platform he actually controls. And with Gamebred FC finally taking a major step forward, Masvidal appears ready to make one of his own. Instead of settling into life as a promoter, he is now talking to the UFC about ending his retirement and stepping back inside the Octagon.
“I’ve been talking to UFC,” Masvidal told MMA Junkie. “It could be this year. It could be early next year. We are talking for a little bit, and the numbers are getting closer and better. So there might be big news coming soon. No… no mentions yet. Waiting for the right name and the right number attached to that; see your boy right back at the T-Mobile Arena.”
Masvidal did not exactly retire on top. His loss to Gilbert Burns at UFC 287 was his fourth straight defeat, and walking away looked more like an escape from a brutal slide than a clean farewell. Even then, nobody really believed he was finished. Masvidal kept teasing a comeback, kept chasing big-name fights, and never sounded like a man who had completely closed the door on the UFC.
‘Gamebred’ was particularly interested in fighting at the UFC White House event that took place in June, and rumors spread like wildfire that he might face Conor McGregor at the spectacle. But Dana White completely shut down those rumors, calling them “goofy s—t.” Even so, Masvidal remained interested in stepping back into the cage, and now he even has an opponent in mind.
“Leon is definitely a prospect,” Masvidal added. “Leon is definitely somebody that I would like to get back and close that chapter.”
Jorge Masvidal and Leon Edwards’ feud is one of the most sought-after rivalries that fans would love to see settled inside the Octagon. In 2019, the Florida-based fighter traveled to England to face Darren Till at the O2 Arena and secured a stellar knockout victory. However, after the fight, ‘Gamebred’ got into a proper brawl with Edwards after the former champion heckled him during an interview with Laura Sanko.
As per Sanko, Masvidal punched Edwards during the altercation and left a cut around his eye. Following that infamous chapter, the UFC eventually scheduled them to fight at UFC 269, but Masvidal had to pull out due to an injury, which prompted Edwards to call him a “fraud”.
Masvidal may have picked the perfect time to reopen that rivalry. Edwards is no longer the champion who once looked miles ahead of him. Since losing the welterweight belt to Belal Muhammad at UFC 304, he has been submitted by Sean Brady and knocked out by Carlos Prates at UFC 322, pushing his skid to three straight losses and dropping him to No. 8 in the division. Masvidal walked away on a four-fight losing streak of his own, so this would hardly have title implications. But that may be exactly why it works. Seven years after their backstage brawl and nearly five years after their UFC 269 fight collapsed, both men suddenly need a meaningful win, and the UFC would not have to manufacture the storyline.
Now, it would be interesting to see whether the UFC signs Masvidal, who, at 41 years old, doesn’t seem to have many fights left in him. But for now, the former 170-pound title challenger is making some big moves with his Gamebred FC bare-knuckle promotion after landing under DAZN’s broadcasting banner.
Jorge Masvidal joins Eddie Hearn on DAZN with new Gamebred FC broadcast deal
For a long time, Gamebred FC streamed its fights on YouTube, giving fans free access to its bare-knuckle MMA cards. But that phase is over. Jorge Masvidal’s promotion has now landed a broadcast deal with DAZN, which will become the new home for its events. The partnership was announced during DAZN’s Teofimo Lopez vs. Rolly Romero card.
While the financial terms remain unclear, future Gamebred FC events will air live on DAZN at no additional cost to existing subscribers. For Masvidal, the deal represents a major step in turning the promotion into something bigger than a post-UFC side project.
“This is the moment we built Gamebred FC for,” Masvidal said in a press release. “We built this sport to be the rawest, most honest version of MMA there is, bare knuckles, full rules, real fighters, nowhere to hide. Now, with DAZN, that goes in front of fight fans in every corner of the planet. This isn’t just a broadcast deal, this is the start of the next chapter for Gamebred FC.”
And DAZN is not buying into an empty schedule. Gamebred FC already has four events locked in before the end of 2026, beginning Sept. 12 in Russia, followed by Oct. 2 in the Dominican Republic and two Miami cards on Oct. 30 and Dec. 12.
The promotion is also continuing heavyweight and lightweight World Grand Prix tournaments, with each winner set to pocket $500,000. Between the international schedule, serious prize money and global distribution, Gamebred FC is beginning to look far more like a legitimate combat sports property than a retired fighter’s side hustle.
That growth also puts Masvidal in an interesting position on DAZN. The platform is already home to BKFC, the bare-knuckle promotion co-owned by Conor McGregor, meaning two of the UFC’s biggest personalities now have competing combat sports brands under the same streaming roof. DAZN’s deeper combat sports ties also include Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing, whose partnership with the platform runs through 2031.
And that is what makes Masvidal’s comeback push so strange. Gamebred FC finally has global distribution, four events on the calendar and serious money behind its tournaments, yet its 41-year-old founder still wants back inside the UFC cage.
The business may be moving forward without him fighting, but Masvidal clearly is not ready to let the fighter disappear just yet.
