Two of the biggest stars of the UFCs’s Octagon in recent years went toe to toe in an eagerly-anticipated rematch in Anaheim, California as Nate Diaz earned a majority decision victory over former UFC BMF champion Jorge Masvidal.
The pair, who have both moved on from the UFC, first met at UFC 244 in November 2019, with Masvidal stopping Diaz via doctor stoppage to capture the inaugural UFC BMF title at Madison Square Garden.
Talk of a rematch between the pair simmered ever since and, following both men’s departure from their respective UFC contracts, a light heavyweight boxing match between the pair was booked, and a sold-out Honda Center was packed to the rafters with fight fans as the two legends of the cage threw leather under the Queensberry Rules.
The event, which was streamed live on pay-per-view via Fanmio, went all the way to the judges’s scorecards, with Diaz taking the victory via majority decision, with two judges scoring the bout for Diaz, 98-92, 97-93, overruling the one dissenting judge, who saw the fight a 95-95 draw.
“Mission accomplished,” said Diaz after claiming his first pro boxing win in just his second bout.
“I feel the love here in Cali every time. He showed up and came to fight and so did I.”
Masvidal took issue with the scoring, and hinted at a trilogy fight between the pair a little further down the line.
“I thought I won,” he said.
“I landed the harder shots. Win or lose, we’re gonna do it again. We’re 1-1, so we’ll run it back.”
Without the backing of a big-time boxing promoter, Diaz and Masvidal went it alone as they self-promoted the event, and their efforts were rewarded by a sold-out crowd, with 18,040 filling the Honda Center.
The matchup offered a clash of fighting styles, with Masvidal looking to land the heavier shots, while Diaz adopted his familiar volume striking approach. The punch stats showed that Diaz landed 148 of 730 shots, while Masvidal connected 176 of 637.
Despite outlanding Diaz, and doing so at a better economy rate, Masvidal ended up on the wrong end of a decision, and said that a rewatch of the fight would show that he, and not Diaz, should have left the ring with his hand raised in victory.
“I definitely felt that I landed the more meaningful shots,” said Masvidal. “When the judges see the videos, they’ll see they were misguided.”
While Masvidal wants a rematch, Diaz is seeking new targets, and said that he aims to take his skills as high up the boxing ladder as possible.
“We just went in there to figure him out,” said Diaz.
“I’m down to fight the highest rated boxer I can find. My main objective is to be the best fighter in the world.”
