Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz are scheduled to face off in a 10-round, 175-pound professional boxing bout on June 1 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles.
Their previous encounter took place in November 2019 at UFC 244, where Masvidal secured victory over Diaz via third-round TKO, clinching the promotion’s inaugural BMF belt after the fight was halted by a cageside doctor due to cuts. The news of their rematch was revealed by MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani during Wednesday’s episode of The MMA Hour.
“I want to murder this guy. And it’s nothing personal with him, but I want to beat the f****** brakes off him. He always said that the referee saved me. I don’t think anybody with common sense would agree. So I think this fight right here puts an end to all that bulls***.”
Both Masvidal and Diaz have ventured into professional boxing previously. Masvidal secured a majority decision win over Joseph Benjamin in 2005, while Diaz made his boxing debut in August 2023, suffering a decision loss to Jake Paul. Masvidal, who retired from combat sports following a loss to Gilbert Burns at UFC 287 in April, is now making a return to boxing after nearly a 19-year hiatus from the sport. The fight will be available on pay-per-view through Fanmio for $79.99, with an early bird price of $49.99 valid until April 12.
“I’m going to be in the best shape of my life. I know he’s going to be in the best shape of his life — it’s not like he’s fighting Jake Paul and he’s coming up off the couch. He knows that if he’s not in shape, I’m going to make him look bad and I’ll get him out of there in two rounds. He knows with me you’ve got to die every day in the gym to maybe step in that ring and have a fighting chance.
“Because I don’t play that s***, man. I’m trying to kill this motherf*****, and he knows it personally. He has the scars to prove it. He sees them things every day in the mirror when he looks at it and knows, ‘This guy is going to try to f****** kill me, bro.’ So Nate, get your ass in shape because I’m coming to break your f****** face, brother.”
Despite being under contract with the UFC, Masvidal obtained permission from the promotion to engage in a boxing match against Diaz. “Gamebred” stated that he has been training for his comeback to boxing for approximately seven or eight weeks in Las Vegas and intends to complete the remainder of his training camp there. He finds the transition between disciplines motivating and aims to demonstrate once more that he is the superior and more tenacious fighter among the two UFC veterans.
“I feel great, I’m in a great place right now. This deal has been amazing for many reasons, and it’s also allowed me to f****** be able to just completely and utterly focus on my training and nothing else,”
“I’m going to hurt this guy, man.”
