UFC 244 was a marquee event for the organisation and the 500th live event they have showcased. This saw it take place in the famous Madison Square Garden area in New York City, in which the gate surpassed $6.5 million. It was all the more memorable as President Donald Trump was in attendance, which meant it became the first mixed martial arts event attended by a sitting U.S president.
The main event saw Jorge Masvidal known as ‘Gamebred’ face off for the BMF belt against Nate Diaz. The latter was making just his second start since the loss to Conor McGregor in the rematch back at UFC 202 in 2016. However, he had returned with an impressive victory over Anthony Pettis before calling out Masvidal. Jorge Masvidal on the other hand returned in 2019 following a two year layoff, and has now quickly established himself into the fighter of the year contender with a stunning year. This started with an breath-taking knockout of Darren Till, who entered the fight having only lost once in his previous 19 fights.
Following this Masvidal was set the task of facing Ben Askren, who entered with a record of 19 wins and no losses. Askren was put in as the betting favourites at the New York online casinos for the event. The fight resulted in the quickest knockout in UFC history at just five seconds, as Masvidal rushed him with a flying knee. An incredible highlight knockout, which led to the hugely anticipated clash with Diaz.
Gamebred put in an impressive display winning all three roads with ease before the fight was called off due to the cuts sustained by Diaz. This TKO victory continued his incredible rise in 2019 and sets him up for some big pay per view events in the near future. Many fans want to see the pair face off again, with the fight not having played out but President Dana White has confirmed this is not going to be next for Jorge.
In his post-fight pre conference, Masvidal was quick to say he was happy to make the rematch as long as the money is right. At the same time he also surprisingly called for a fight with the now four-division world boxing champion, Canelo Alvarez. The latter is now arguably the top pound for pound boxer and on the same night produced a stunning knockout stoppage of previous champion, Sergey Kovalev. This would lead to a huge fight if the pair were to face off but it is very unlikely this would or even will materialise. However, he has now said he is ‘dead serious’ about the fight with the Mexican and the switch to boxing, so time will tell if this can be made.