Boxing

Nate Diaz & Jorge Masvidal Up For MMA Trilogy After Boxing Bout

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There’s still unfinished business to be settled between two BMF’s.

Diaz vs. Masvidal II

Nearly five years after facing off at UFC 244, Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal will cross paths again this summer. The former UFC stars won’t rematch in the Octagon, however. This time around they’ll meet inside the boxing ring. That means no knees or kicks for Masvidal and definitely, no Stockton slaps from Diaz.

Ahead of their boxing match on June 1st in Los Angeles, the two fighters are doing a multi-city press tour to promote the event. In their second stop, Diaz and Masvidal go back to where their rivalry all started: New York City.

Diaz’s Two-Step Plan For Masvidal

Putting on the boxing gloves once more after coming up short against Jake Paul in August, Diaz says he wouldn’t mind running it back with Masvidal in MMA after it’s all said and done.

“This is part one, ’cause we’re boxing. When we fight in MMA it’ll be part two,” Diaz said at the NYC press conference. “So, that’s what we’re working on right now. Coming out here to whoop that ass in the boxing ring.”

Masvidal: “He’s Getting The Whole Buffet”

Masvidal expects the rematch in boxing to reflect what happened in the UFC, an “ass whooping”, he calls it.

“I’m fast, I’m explosive. I kick well. They say I got a record for kneeing people in the face, so I’m gonna f****** use it. If it’s MMA now it’s boxing, so buddy don’t have to worry about those things. But I also got these hands, they’re explosive as f***. He’s getting the whole buffet,” Masvidal proclaimed.

The BMF History

The inaugural ‘Baddest Motherf*****’ title fight between Diaz and Masvidal in 2019 ironically enough had quite the anti-climactic ending with the fight being stopped due to a cut above Diaz’s eye. Masvidal entertained a rematch in his post-fight interview but it’d never come to be… that is, until now.

“I knew I’d be here the whole time, so I knew the time would come,” Diaz said of the Masvidal rematch. “I just got back to it and did what I had to do as soon as I could. And I still feel I’m the, I’m the f****** BMF in this whole b****, the whole fight game. I’m gonna continue on until the end of time. That’s my plan.”

“I didn’t a hundred percent believe that when he became a free agent,” Masvidal spoke of uncertainty that he’d fight Diaz again. “That’s the only time I was like, ‘Ah, maybe the, the rematch won’t happen’, because I’m still signed to the UFC, so it’s not like I just get up and leave, you know? Luckily I got this deal that allowed me to fight three boxing matches and he’s the first one.”

Back-And-Forth

Later in the presser, Diaz reiterated that he’d like to face “Gamebred” in the cage after this upcoming boxing match.

“If I had a rematch recommendation, it would be for a MMA fight,” Diaz added.

“Hundred percent in,” Masvidal responded. “The trilogy could be in MMA any day. I’m actually signed to a UFC company that does MMA.

“You better ask,” Diaz told Masvidal.

“Yeah, dude, you’re right. I’m not a free agent. But what? You rather fight in another promotion that’s not the UFC. Like, what the f***?” Masvidal said.

“If you were the baddest motherf*****, you would do what you want,” Diaz clapped back, with the crowd getting behind him.

“That sounds awesome and s*** but I’m not gonna catch a lawsuit just cause I want to f****** go and fight outside a KFC parking lot,” Masvidal concluded.

Jorge Masvidal is still under UFC contract and as he pointed out, this is one of three boxing matches he’s allowed to do. Nate Diaz, on the other hand, left the premier MMA promotion in 2022 after completing the last fight on his deal against Tony Ferguson at UFC 279. The Stockton superstar remains as a free agent, but has been open to a UFC return before.

Will we see another MMA fight between Diaz and Masvidal after their boxing match on June 1st?

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Christopher De Santiago is a journalist out of Texas with years of experience covering MMA. Follow him on X: @chris_dsantiago

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