Nate Diaz waited nearly five years and crossed over to a new sport to finally get his revenge on Jorge Masvidal after falling to him in the UFC.
In a truly entertaining 10-round boxing match, Diaz got the nod by majority decision over Masvidal as the UFC veterans traded shots in a back-and-forth battle in front of a sold out crowd at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. The difference with the two judges who scored the fight for Diaz seemed to be his relentless volume and pressure, which constantly kept Masvidal on his backfoot.
For his part, Masvidal definitely landed the bigger power punches but that didn’t sway the scorecards that ultimately cost him the fight. In the end the judges scored the contest 97-93 and 98-92 for Diaz with the third official at 95-95 as a draw.
That was still enough for Diaz to get the win in his second professional boxing match.
“It feels good to get the job done,” Diaz said afterward. “Mission accomplished. I could feel the love out here every time. Shout out to California. It’s all love. It’s always been respect for anyone I’m fighting. He showed up and came to fight and so did I so it’s all good.”
It was a classic Diaz performance early as he came out throwing punches in bunch, going to the head and body and backing Masvidal against the ropes. That death by 1,000 cuts style that worked so well for Diaz in MMA seemed to translate for him in boxing as well while showing no fear stepping into the pocket for the exchanges with Masvidal.
The slow start from Masvidal may have been his way to figure out his range and timing with Diaz’s pressure filled offensive output. Masvidal finally got going more in the second round with a stiff left and a right hook that caught Diaz looking as the UFC veterans traded punches.
Masvidal clearly had the better power as he continued to crack Diaz with the stiffer shots in the early going but Diaz wasn’t backing down. In return, Diaz focused on a slick lead jab with his right hand followed by a left behind it as he kept up his volume.
The pitter-patter punches from Diaz never slowed but Masvidal was really starting to sit down as he launched massive left and right hooks to the head and body.
That said as the fight moved into the fifth round, Diaz really began pouring on the punches and Masvidal clearly had to pace himself. Masvidal wasn’t throwing as much as Diaz but when he finally let his hands go, he was looking to do damage with every shot he unloaded.
The remarkable pace from Diaz would wear down a marathon runner and he didn’t slow down one bit as he continued pushing Masvidal backwards towards the corner or the ropes. The economical approach from Masvidal was playing defense and the picking and choosing when he would unload a big counter punch.
The back-and-forth battle played out that way in almost every single round with Diaz peppering away with combinations that saw him throwing four and five punches in succession. Masvidal covered up playing defense and then he would fire back with huge shots that whipped Diaz’s jaw around as sweat went flying.
As time ticked away in the final round, Diaz clipped Masvidal with a well-timed uppercut and then he went right back to that same stabbing right hand that served as his best punch all night. Masvidal then uncorked another massive left hook as they just kept blasting away at each other until the bell sounded.
So many rounds really came down to whether the judges favored Diaz’s volume versus Masvidal’s power. In the end, Diaz obviously got the nod much to Masvidal’s chagrin.
“I thought I won,” Masvidal said. “I thought I hit the harder shots. We can do it again, we’re 1-1. We’ll find a place and do it again. I definitely thought I landed more meaningful shots. The harder shots, 100 percent I landed them. Nate wants to run it again, we can.”
Considering the way the crowd reacted and the fanfare surrounded both fighters, it wouldn’t be tough to put them back in the ring together again, especially after an entertaining show on Saturday night.
While that’s definitely possible, Diaz already has his sights set on avenging another loss from his past and then perhaps a return to his old stomping grounds in the UFC.
“I’m going to be Jake Paul’s f*cking ass and I’m down to fight the highest ranked boxer I can find,” Diaz said. “My main objective is to be the best fighter in the world so I want to go back and get a UFC title. Leon Edwards, Jake Paul and anybody the f*ck else, you’re dead.”
