In a rematch between Nate Diaz and Jorge ‘Gamebred’ Masvidal, albeit one contested in the squared circle rather than the Octagon, Diaz avenged a UFC loss to Masvidal by capturing a majority-decision win in Saturday night’s boxing match at Honda Center in Anaheim, CA.
The judges scored the bout 97-93 and 98-92 for Diaz, with the third official turning in a 95-95 card for a draw. The 39-year-old Stockton, CA., native cashed tickets for his betting backers as a +155 (Caesars) to +210 (BetMGM) underdog.
“It feels good to get the job done,” Diaz said afterward. “Mission accomplished. I could feel the love out here every time. Shout out to California. It’s all love. It’s always been respect for anyone I’m fighting. He showed up and came to fight and so did I, so it’s all good.”
Diaz was the more active fighter from the start, backing Masvidal up to the ropes with a constant right-hand jab. Masvidal landed the harder shots throughout the contest, but he had to pace himself for the 10-round match.
From the fifth round until the end, Masvidal simply couldn’t keep Diaz’s pace. He would cover up and play defense before firing a couple of head-hunting counters.
But it wasn’t enough compared to Diaz’s relentless volume. When Masvidal did land power punches, Diaz’s famous chin held up just fine.
“I thought I won,” Masvidal said. “I thought I hit the harder shots. We can do it again, we’re 1-1. We’ll find a place and do it again. I definitely thought I landed more meaningful shots. The harder shots, 100 percent I landed them. Nate wants to run it again, we can.”
What’s next for Nate?
“I’m going to beat Jake Paul’s f—ing ass and I’m down to fight the highest-ranked boxer I can find,” Diaz said. “My main objective is to be the best fighter in the world, so I want to go back and get a UFC title. Leon Edwards, Jake Paul and anybody the f— else, you’re dead.”
Edwards, the UFC’s welterweight champion, is set to defend his belt later this month against Belal Muhammad in the UFC 304 headliner at Co-op Live in Manchester, England.
Edwards and Diaz famously fought at UFC 263 on June 12 of 2021. Edwards mostly dominated the first four rounds, but he got rocked by a Diaz combination with about a minute left in the fifth and final stanza.
From there, it was complete survival mode for Edwards, who appeared to be out on his feet. He somehow survived, though, and won a unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) to earn a title shot against Kamaru Usman.
Diaz made his pro boxing debut last August against Paul, losing a UD.
Diaz’s most bitter rival, Conor McGregor, announced in a Twitter post late Saturday afternoon, that he was making a $500,000 bet on Diaz. The winning wager netted ‘The Notorious’ a $1.125 million profit.
When told of this at his post-fight presser, Diaz said, “That’s cool. Good job for us.”