06 April 2023 , 08:02
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Jorge Masvidal was held back by security after being embroiled in a heated altercation with Kevin Holland at UFC 287.
'Gamebred' will return to the octagon this weekend in his hometown Miami where he faces a hugely significant showdown with Gilbert Burns. Masvidal needs a win to halt his run of three consecutive defeats, with a victory likely to see him try and force one final hoorah at 170lb and a title fight with Leon Edwards.
The stakes have been high during fight week with Masvidal insisting he will look to retire if he loses to Burns given he will find himself well away from the title picture. And tensions have been raised higher for the 170lb contender who bumped into fellow challenger Holland backstage at the fight-week media day.
The pair screamed at each other from opposite sides of the lobby with Holland keen to meet Masvidal in the middle and argue with him. Masvidal was equally determined to get closer to Holland but found himself being restrained by two members of security to prevent him from getting any closer.
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After screaming at each other for almost a minute, Masvidal was removed from the situation along with his team into the venue while Holland stayed and regained his calm. When posting the video on his Instagram later, he hinted at an opponent change for himself after a similar situation last September saw Holland clash with Khamzat Chimaev before having to face his rival in the cage in a rearranged fight. Holland said: "The video is going to come out...Then, they're probably going to do an opponent change again."
Masvidal is in a do-or-die situation anyway given his recent record but he remains a huge pay-per-view star which could see him fast-tracked to the top if he is able to overcome Burns. Current 170lb champion Edwards is open to the challenge of Masvidal but will first potentially need to beat Masvidal's bitter rival Colby Covington.
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But he has already plotted a vicious beating of Edwards when he plans to come over to England to launch his assault on the belt. He said at the press conference: "I never underestimate anybody that has two hands and two feet, but I don't stop thinking about also that after this fight, I'm going to England. I'm going to use that belt to beat it over Leon's head and then come back to this great country and defend that belt.
"It's not something that I don't think of in the back of my mind, definitely, but first it's versus Gilbert. Eliminate him in an impressive fashion and there'll be talk of nobody else fighting for nothing else but me. All of a sudden, what, they're just putting on events just to put them on? I don't think so, so as long as I do my job Saturday, everything else will fall into place."