Jorge Masvidal (34W-13L) and Nate Diaz (20W-11L) held their open workouts on Wednesday, October 20 prior to UFC 244 for “BMF” (Baddest Mother F*cker) belt at Hulu Theatre at Madison Square Garden. This upcoming event is a huge deal for the MMA fans because there was never another belt except for the UFC belt. Now that UFC introduces the new belt, some fans are happy to see the different title and some are displeased with the introduction of the new belt. The open workouts were one of its kind, where fans had the pleasure of getting on stage with the UFC fighters and show a part of their skills in front of future UFC champion, Jorge Masvidal. These open workouts are not the most entertaining events for the UFC fans, however, this particular one was arguably the most entertaining open UFC workout ever held.
Jorge Masvidal who started fighting on the streets of Miami had last two wins against very respectful martial artists in the UFC has become one of the most talked fighters in the business. His last win was against Ben Askren (19–1) that lasted record-breaking five seconds. The fight finished with a flying knee from the start of the round from Masvidal and instantly knocked Askren out. That shocking knock out propelled him to the top charts of the Welterweight division. The fans were excited to see both fighters and especially Masvidal after his five-second win over Askren.
Nate Diaz who was out of the fighting game for nearly three years returned back to the octagon on August 17, 2019, to face and beat a talented Anthony Pettis in the welterweight bought in the co-main event. Nate Diaz’s response to being out for nearly three years was “because everyone sucked.” After the win over Pettis, Diaz called out Jorge Masvidal to fight for the “baddest mother f*cker” title.
It is the first time when UFC is introducing a different belt to the fighters and many MMA fans are not supportive of “BMF” belt because they believe it makes UFC seems like WWE and “cheapens the legitimacy of UFC championships.” One of the fans in attendance at the official UFC open workout said, “I believe [“BMF” belt] is a one-and-done deal. I don’t think there will be any fighters chasing the BMF belt… I don’t want to see UFC keeping this belt in line for the others.”
Official UFC open workouts are usually uneventful events where the fighters showcase their arsenal of skills. However, it wasn’t the case this time. Masvidal showed up on stage an hour later than expected, but it did not stop the fans from cheering when he finally showed up. After coming out onto the stage the fans expected to see him kick and punch however, Masvidal said, “I’m going to perform for you all on Saturday (the day of the fight) so right now this is kind of [not interesting],” Instead of doing his typical workout as the fighters do during open workouts, Jorge Masvidal decided to make it fun for the fans and selected a few of them to fight each other wearing boxing gloves using only body blows. It is something Masvidal used to do on the streets of Miami, just a much less violent version. The fans, of course, were thrilled to have an opportunity to show their fighting skills in front of one of the “baddest” fighters in the MMA. The fans were picked by Masvidal’s coaching staff. About eight people had an opportunity to box in front of approximately 500 people in attendance. There were several attempts from UFC officials to stop fighting because of liability, but Masvidal disregarded them and allowed the fans to continue on. After about 10 minutes of sparring between fans, the UFC officials had to physically interrupt and shut down the fighting. The UFC officials were booed off the stage and Mavidal proceeded with Q&A.
I asked one of the fans about his experience UFC open workout experience and what he thinks about the Masvidal’s approach to an atypical open workout he said, “…I have never seen any fighter do this during an open workout…I really enjoyed it and I think everyone did…it is very engaging and the fans absolutely loved it.”
Unlike Jorge Masvidal, Nate Diaz took the regular approach and performed his training routine in front of the fans. His workout lasted for roughly five minutes. Diaz brought and introduced his entire coaching staff to the fans including his distinguished training partner Kron Gracie who is a member of the famous Gracie jiu-jitsu family. Diaz also proceeded with Q&A and threw a few t-shirts into the crowd of MMA fans.
The UFC 244 open workout was very unusual and something that fans have never seen before. Out of four fighters who were scheduled to do open workouts, only Nate Diaz showed the fans what they were expecting. The co-main event fighters, Kelvin Gastelum and Darren Till did not do open workouts either. Gastelum just answered a few questions from the fans and Darren Till didn’t show up at all due to his flight delay.
The event was definitely a unique representation of UFC open workouts and it was something that MMA fans were talking about on social media.