Jorge Masvidal has been granted his wish to move up to the welterweight division by the UFC and his first fight there will come against Cezar ‘Mutante’ Ferreira at the TUF 21 Finale in Miami on July 12th.
Masvidal claimed recently that he’s been eyeing a move to 170lbs for several years, but had stuck around in the lightweight division as he had believed it was better for his career at the time.
However, a controversial split decision loss to Al Iaquinta last time out that ended a three fight winning streak and left him barely clinging on to a place on the lightweight rankings at No.15 appears to have been the final straw.
‘Gambred’ has fought at welterweight before, with the last time being back in 2010 when he lost out by unanimous decision to Paul Daley in the competitive bout at Shark Fights 13.
In ‘Mutante’ he’s facing a former TUF: Brazil season 1 winner who’s also coming off a loss, being KO’d by Sam Alvey back in February.
The Brazilian was also knocked out by CB Dollaway a year earlier, so there’s concerns over the 30 year-old’s chin, but he does have four victories in the UFC beyond that.
Masvidal Vs ‘Mutante’ joins a TUF 21 Finale card that’s already set to be headlined by a lightweight encounter between former champion Ben Henderson and Michael Johnson.
