Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
A welterweight bout between fan favorite Nate Diaz and surging contender Jorge Masvidal is officially set to headline UFC 244 on Nov. 2 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside Madison Square Garden in New York City, per a recent report by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto.
Looks like the “Baddest Motherf—ker” belt will be up for grabs after all as Diaz and Masvidal square off in a five-round main event. UFC president Dana White details how the bout came together below:
UFC President @danawhite tells @bokamotoESPN how the battle for the BMF belt between @NateDiaz209 and @GamebredFighter came together for #UFC244 pic.twitter.com/qu2vgcBMY5
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 7, 2019
“This whole thing started to materialize last night,” explained White. “So last night, Diaz’s guys were going back and forth with us and we ended up getting it done. So, Masvidal is pumped for this fight, Diaz is pumped for this fight. I’m excited for it and I am sure the fans are very excited to see this. It will be the main event. Five rounds of Diaz vs. Masvidal at Madison Square Garden.”
“I’m going to put together a ‘BMF’ belt for these two,” added White. “They can fight for the ‘BMF’ belt.”
Diaz, 34, is coming off a masterful unanimous decision win over former UFC champion Anthony Pettis at UFC 241. The fan favorite fighter had been sidelined for three years dating back to his rematch with Conor McGregor at UFC 202, but arguably looked better than ever. In fact, Diaz’s performance against Pettis brought his UFC stock to an entirely new level and allowed him to land this fight with “Gamebred.”
Masvidal, 34, is coming off a record-setting performance at UFC 239 back in July in which he ended previously undefeated welterweight contender Ben Askren via five-second knockout. That finish came less than four months after Masvidal knocked out Darren Till in their main event at UFC London. Masvidal has never looked better either despite this being his sixth year under UFC contract and it’s finally time for the veteran to cash in against one of the most popular fighters in the sport today.
Now that “Gamebred” is locked in a five-round battle with Diaz this fall, UFC officials will do everything in their power to get current welterweight champion Kamaru Usman back in the Octagon to defend his title, likely against current top contender Colby Covington.
Stick with Mania for more UFC 244 fight card news.