After 2 turbulent years, Masvidal has golden opportunity to get back on track

UFC welterweight Jorge Masvidal's fall from glory was almost as quick as his rise.

For years, Masvidal was one of the more overlooked athletes in mixed martial arts. A pro since 2003, his fundamentals were sound and he was in competitive fights with former champions. The potential was there. But he seemed to lack a killer instinct, which resulted in narrow decision losses and a frustrated Masvidal wondering where he was going wrong.

Everything changed in 2019. The comeback against Darren Till. The three-piece and a soda. The historic Ben Askren knockout. The BMF belt.

Suddenly, after a decade and a half of hard work not translating into the success he wanted to achieve, Masvidal was one of the UFC's biggest superstars.

But then he ran into Kamaru Usman.

Usman, the UFC welterweight champion and pound-for-pound king, handed Masvidal two straight losses in 2020 and 2021. In their first meeting, Usman dominated via unanimous decision. Their second fight resulted in one of the year's most brutal knockouts. After delivering an all-time great moment against Askren less than two years earlier, Masvidal was now front and center on someone else's highlight reel.

It was humiliating. And his stock plummeted.

Heading into the first Usman fight, Masvidal was considered one of the best at 170 pounds. He was the rightful next challenger after his unforgettable 2019 campaign, which landed him on the front cover of EA Sports UFC 4 alongside middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. And even the aftermath of that fight wasn't so bad, as Masvidal stepped in on short notice and went all five rounds with the champion.

But the second loss to Usman had a major impact on how people perceived Masvidal's position in the division. In the 10 months since that fight, fans have largely written him off as a contender. It almost feels as if Masvidal - ranked No. 6 at welterweight - is irrelevant to the title picture. And he's not nearly as popular as he once was.

That said, it's not fair to dismiss Masvidal so quickly. Everyone loses to Usman, who's one win away from tying Anderson Silva for the longest winning streak in UFC history. Gilbert Burns lost to Usman by knockout in his own bid for the welterweight title. So did Colby Covington. Among all the welterweights who have fallen short to Usman - and there's a bunch of them - why is Masvidal getting the short end of the stick regarding fan perception?

It's ironic if you think about it. "Gamebred" was underrated his whole career, and then his fame skyrocketed three years ago - perhaps to levels he didn't deserve. And now you can make the argument he's back to being underrated. After all, losing to Usman doesn't mean a whole lot.

With several welterweights on the rise, such as Belal Muhammad and Khamzat Chimaev, Masvidal may not get another title opportunity for a while, if ever. Most fighters who've lost twice to the champ don't. However, Masvidal does have a great opportunity to restore his brand to where it was in 2019.

The 37-year-old is scheduled to square off with Covington in a highly anticipated grudge match in Saturday's UFC 272 main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. If Masvidal wins, not only would that be a sign he has a lot of life left, but it could also be the start of another career-defining campaign.

Covington and Masvidal have a long history, which is why this is expected to be one of the biggest fights of 2022. The former title challengers used to train together at American Top Team in Florida. They even lived together for a while. They were best friends.

But a few years ago, they had a falling out. What happened? It depends on who you ask. Either way, it got heated and personal, and there's no doubt Covington and Masvidal seriously dislike each other. Their feud led to Covington leaving the gym in 2020; he now trains at MMA Masters in Miami. And it'll be settled - at least competitively - this weekend.

As much as Covington-Masvidal is about the bad blood and not the stakes, it's still a big fight for the division. Covington is ranked No. 1. He's also given Usman his hardest fight. The point is, "Chaos" seems to be the second-best fighter in the division by quite a bit. If Masvidal can knock him off that pedestal, he'll make a huge leap toward the top. And even if a win wouldn't earn Masvidal a third fight with Usman right away, he'd be a lot closer to that opportunity than he is now.

It's no secret things haven't gone Masvidal's way in the past two years. The days of him ruling over the UFC as the mythical BMF champion are far in the rearview mirror. (Remember the talk about him fighting Conor McGregor? That feels like seven years ago at this point.) And to be honest, after Usman knocked him out last April, it felt like we'd never see that guy again.

But the Covington fight has given Masvidal a glimmer of hope. It's his chance to re-insert himself into the conversation at 170 pounds - and re-emerge as one of the sport's biggest stars.

Now he just has to win.