11 April 2023 , 12:43
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Jorge Masvidal has rubbished claims from rival Gilbert Burns that he greased himself with lotion heading into their meeting at UFC 287 on Saturday night in Miami.
The two-time welterweight world title contender was defeated by Burns to go 0-4 since his tremendous 2019 run of three victories, and announced his retirement in the cage shortly after. But the good feeling between the pair came to an end quickly when Burns accused the hometown fighter of cheating in their fight.
Burns was hoping to land a statement victory that could have catapulted him into a shot at Leon Edwards' world title, but had to settle for a decision win instead. And he will likely need another big name win before he is considered for the welterweight belt, which he failed in winning during 2020.
“There’s a commission, there was, like, three commissioners backstage,” Masvidal said during an appearance yesterday on The MMA Hour. “There’s numerous people backstage besides [USADA]. I’ve never greased, I’ve never been caught for cheating or anything.
“Maybe I’m the sweatiest motherf***er he knows, but I’ve never greased. I’ve never put on anything in my life for forever. I’ve never done that in my life. Maybe he should blame his technique for f****** being shitty, not being able to do anything but just hold on the ground.”
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Burns told media after the fight that he felt Masvidal, a renowned striker who would have struggled with his elite grappling, was "slippery". The bout did end up going the distance, which was not expected, and was not the exciting back-and-forth that fans were expecting.
“I showed a lot of improvement, and that guy was freaking slippery,” Burns said after the event. “There’s an old dog Miami trick with a lotion because he was so slippery. 100 per cent I do believe [Masvidal greased]. I know those old tricks. They wake up on [Saturday] and take the first shower, and they put a lot of lotion on their body.
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"The skin absorbs the lotion, and then after three hours, you do it again, and then after you do it again, then after you do it again. Whenever he starts to sweat a lot... For sure, he did that 100 per cent. I’m telling you, it wasn’t maybe, maybe not. He was so slippery. Whenever you’re watching the highlights, try to see, you’re gonna see, like, he’s bright, his skin’s bright. I've got to give it up to this guy. The guy has all the tricks.”
But Masvidal, a wiley veteran of over 50 fights who likely does know every trick in the book, insists that he didn't cheat in the bout or ever, adding: “The referee was there, touching me constantly and breaking us up and moving us around. You’re telling me he couldn’t tell if I had grease?
"Ain’t no difference between that and sweating, so it’s whatever, bro. I’ve never cheated. I’m not about to cheat. I’ve never even had a point taken away from me in my 50-something pro fights. So for this guy to try to slander my name on my last one, whatever, bro."