Jorge Masvidal is returning to action for the first time since he announced his UFC retirement, against former foe, Nate Diaz, in a boxing match. Having been a controversial figure during his time in Dana White‘s promotion, ‘Gamebred’ also had his fair share of personal struggles, involving his father, Jorge Masvidal Sr., who has had his share of trouble with the law.

Jorge Masvidal was born to a Peruvian mother, Mama Dukes, and a Cuban father, after whom he’s been named. Masvidal Sr. was a war refugee, who made the decision to run away from his country and flee to the Virgin Islands, and would later end up on the wrong side of the law which would ultimately make him end up in prison.

Why did the ex-UFC star’s dad go to prison?

As we all know, Jorge Masvidal developed a reputation for fighting street and backyard brawls in Miami. His father disappeared from his life when he was four years old and his mother would not reveal the real reason why that happened. However, Masvidal’s mother had enough of her son creating trouble after he got kicked out of summer school when ‘Gamebred’ was in fifth grade and decided to reveal that his father was in prison, worried that her son might follow the same path.

“It was a drug charge… He got 18 years… He was moving some powder, you know? Here and there [and] he was making ends meet via the old hustlers’ route,” Jorge Masvidal told ‘djvlad’. “It’s a serious offense, you know, especially under the Biden crime law deal that made c*caine a lot more punishable.”

Jorge Masvidal would state further that his father served his time as the law required him to do. At that, his mother would take him back to her native land and stay there for a few years. “He [Masvidal Sr.] went and did his time and my mom shipped me to Peru… ‘Go live for couple years’. I went over there for like three and change and then I came back to the States after that.”

‘Gamebred’ would eventually reunite with his father after almost a decade of disappearing from his life. However, things would take a wrong turn once again for Jorge Masvidal’s father, who’d get charged with attempted murder in 2023.

All about Jorge Masvidal Sr.’s arrest after alleged shooting incident

Following ‘Gamebred’s retirement from the UFC, his father would butt heads with the law once again, but this time, it was not related to any substance-related crime. In fact, Jorge Masvidal Sr. was actually arrested on charges of second-degree attempted murder in the UFC star’s home in Miami. The news was confirmed by the Miami-Dade Police Department, which claimed that Masvidal Sr. had allegedly shot a man twice, named Luis Lencioni, who was later taken into medical care to nurse his wounds.

The victim would state in his report to the police department that he and ‘Gamebred’s father had a verbal conflict which led to the shooting. Meanwhile, it was confirmed that Jorge Masvidal was not present at his Miami home when the incident went down. His father was taken into custody for further investigation, with the police searching the house only to find a .38 caliber weapon after they got the legal green light for a search warrant. Reports claim that Masvidal Sr. was bonded out of jail, but his son hasn’t spoken publicly about the situation.