Jorge Masvidal is not thrilled about having to wait another five weeks to get his hands on Nate Diaz.
Originally, ‘Gamebred’ and the ‘Stockton Samurai’ were scheduled to step inside the squared circle on June 1. However, those plans quickly changed when it was revealed that the UFC would hold its next pay-per-view event on that same date.
Now, Masvidal and Diaz’s long-awaited rematch will go down on Saturday, July 6. In addition to the date change, the event will also switch up its location, moving from the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California to the Honda Center in Anaheim.
“You don’t want to go up against other dates and other fight events,” Masvidal told ESPN. “Especially, you don’t want to go up against UFC. So, from the beginning, I was trying to switch this date. Nate’s a f*cking idiot. He was adamant about staying on that date because he’s not a UFC employee no more and, ‘I don’t have to do nothing for the UFC,’ and this and that.
“It just doesn’t make sense, especially when I know Nate thinks he’s a boxer now because he boxed the Jake Paul guy, but he’s not a boxer. He doesn’t have a boxing fanbase. The fanbase that he has is from MMA and UFC. So, why go up against our own fanbase? Me as a promoter, I’m thinking I don’t even want to do it. I know a lot of fight fans would buy both or watch both events, but in my opinion, why even do it if there were dates that weren’t conflicting?” (h/t MMA Mania).
Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz set to run back their instant classic at UFC 244
When Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz meet in The Golden State, it will be their second time competing against one another, the first coming at UFC 244 in 2019 for the inaugural BMF title. ‘Gamebred’ won the fight via a doctor’s stoppage following the conclusion of the third round. It was the last fight Masvidal would win inside the Octagon before retiring from MMA in 2023.
“I don’t like that another month and a week got added to this already long training camp,” Masvidal said. “In hindsight, it doesn’t really matter because I’m making the transition from one sport to another. So the more time I get to practice and perfect my craft, sharpen my tools, it doesn’t hurt me or bother me.
“Now, Nate Diaz’s ass is somebody that does bother me and I want to f*ck him up. We could have had this fight at an earlier date but this guy’s such a f*cking diva and a f*cking coward that he wouldn’t want to fight in Miami, didn’t want to fight in Texas because things didn’t go his way in Texas against Jake Paul. Didn’t want to fight in New York. Didn’t want to fight in California unless it was in his hometown. I’m here pent up, frustrated, training my ass off every day just to get in there with this guy, and f*cking hurt him.”
Nate Diaz walked away from the UFC in 2022 following a fourth-round submission victory over Tony Ferguson. 11 months later, he would make his boxing debut in a 10-round clash with YouTube star Jake Paul. ‘The Problem Child’ won the bout via unanimous decision.
