Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC
Jorge Masvidal was the focus of Nate Diaz’s attention following the Stockton slugger’s win over Anthony Pettis in the co-main event of last weekend’s UFC 241 pay-per-view (PPV) card in Anaheim, Calif., as Diaz called for a showdown against “Gamebred” during his victory speech.
Not one to sit in silence, Masvidal took the chance to accept the challenge and even took it one step further and proposed a date.
“Nate is right about one thing, I ain’t no West Coast Gangster,” said Masvidal on his YouTube channel. “Shout out to that coast, a lot of great support and vibes over there.”
“But I’m from Miami-Dade County. I’m a dirty south goon … damn right, I ain’t no West Coast gangster, I am from the MIA, baby. And I’m ready. I’m ready to put it on the line. And I’m so gangster with it, we can do it, besides the seven percent tax in Cali, would love to do it in Cali,” added Masvidal.
“We’re just negotiating now, and let’s give the fans a fight that they want to see. Two dogs locked in a cage, going for the jugular,” explained Masvidal, who was playing Street Fighter, of all things.
Why is that important?
During a recent interview, Diaz mentioned the popular arcade game in reference to the fights he likes, as well as the ones fans want to see. Like the video game, you have the option to pick your two favorite fighters to duke it out digitally, and that’s what he prefers in real life.
According to UFC president Dana White, however, there is no progress as of yet.
“Why, did I say I was doing Diaz and Masvidal on Saturday?” White asked reporters on Tuesday night (via MMA Junkie). “Well … they asked me, and I said, ‘Who doesn’t want to see that fight?’ But no, no progress.”
Still, to hear Masvidal tell it, he has a few things in common with Diaz, mainly that they both can take a licking and keep on ticking.
“You know that I can get hit with a baseball bat, it don’t mean nothing, and same thing with my rival. You can hit that dude with a fucking baseball bat to the kneecaps, he’s going to keep coming. It’s a fight the fans want and they are going to get it.”
According to Masvidal, who is coming off a record-setting knockout win over Ben Askren, he prefers a showdown in December, which means it could land at the UFC 245 event on Dec. 14 inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. That event currently features a women’s Bantamweight title fight between champion Amanda Nunes and top contender, Germaine de Randamie.
Still, it seems that as much as we want the wheels to get in motion for this fight, it’s stuck in park at the moment.