That’s according to former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping, who was on the scene for the “Last Man Standing” boxing match.
Jorge Masvidal was a sizable betting favorite in his boxing rematch against Nate Diaz.
Those early odds did not come as much of a surprise to anyone in the combat sports community, considering Masvidal stopped Diaz at UFC 244. But it may have been Jake Paul’s commanding performance over Diaz when the former UFC welterweight made his “sweet science” debut last summer that had bookies backing “Gamebred.”
“This was a different Nate Diaz,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel (transcribed by Farah Hannoun). “When you look at Nate Diaz and the way that he performed against Jake Paul, I thought it was going to be a bad night for Nate Diaz, but I was wrong. He came in motivated, in-shape, and super aggressive from the very get-go. Jake Paul was lucky because the Diaz that showed up against Jake Paul was not the Diaz that showed up for Jorge Masvidal.”
Diaz was dropped by Paul en route to a decision loss in summer 2023.
“It just wasn’t the same guy, it wasn’t the same fighter,” Bisping continued. “The attitude wasn’t the same. He was very nonchalant, he didn’t seem to care. He definitely underestimated the Disney boy and that’s his own fault. That’s not Jake Paul’s fault. Jake Paul takes his craft very seriously. So, for Nate Diaz to show up and underestimate him, that’s on him. But, I think that taught Nate Diaz a lesson. I think that was a wake-up call.”
And perhaps a new lease on his combat sports career.