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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Jorge Masvidal is planning a move.
The 30-year-old competitor is frustrated in the lightweight division following his recent split decision loss to Al Iaquinta, and so he's now looking to compete in the 170 lb. field.
The move was reported on Friday's UFC Tonight program on Fox Sports 1, with Masvidal believing he should be 7-0 in the UFC rather than at 5-2. That other loss also came by decision against Rustam Khabilov in November of 2013, though it was certainly less controversial than the Iaquinta bout.
Masvidal knocked Iaquinta down in the first round and did considerable damage through the opening five minutes at UFC Fight Night 63. Unfortunately, he slowed down his attacks through the final ten minutes, allowing Iaquinta to make his own argument for those rounds, one which convinced two of the three judges.
If Masvidal indeed moves up, it will be the first time he's competed at 170 lbs. or up since fighting UFC vet Paul Daley in September of 2010. He lost that fight by decision prior to entering Strikeforce, which then led to his current UFC run.
Penick's Analysis: Masvidal's problems at 155 lbs. have mostly been his own, as his failure to put in complete fights have left some closer than they perhaps should be. I still don't think he lost to Iaquinta, but failing to finish him off in the first led to him getting far too complacent in the second, and that's something he needs to work on. The weight class won't matter if he's beating himself.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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