Nate Diaz got one of his wish lists on Saturday: a rematch.
In Diaz's second bout against Jorge Masvidal, he defeated his former UFC rival by majority decision in a 10-round boxing bout at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. It wasn't a textbook upset — their first bout was under MMA rules at UFC 244, with Masvidal defeating Diaz by doctor's stoppage — but it was a win for Diaz.
Now that he's avenged that loss, Diaz has other past opponents in mind. Speaking to the media after the fight, Diaz named former loser Jake Paul and current UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards as opponents he'd like to beat.
“Just to let you know, [Paul’s] “I want to beat Leon Edwards, the best fighter in the world at 170 pounds,” Diaz said in the post-fight press conference. [pounds]… I think the guys that actually bring something to the table that I can take and put in my credential box are the guys that matter. That's what I'm going to go for. I'm not playing for the games that aren't exciting, because those games aren't exciting.”
Paul defeated Diaz by majority decision in August in his boxing debut after 15 years with the UFC. When Diaz mentioned Paul live on Saturday's broadcast, “Problem Child” responded on social media.
“Fuck Nate Diaz, you bitch who turned down my PFL offer of $15 million,” Paul wrote on Twitter, referring to his previous challenge to Diaz to fight under MMA rules in the PFL.
Despite the reaction, Diaz seems confident about the possibility of a rematch.
“From my perspective, this is pretty realistic,” Diaz said. “All I can think about is that if someone thinks they're super solid, they're going to get screwed.”
As for Edwards, he clashed with Diaz at UFC 263 in June 2021. Though Edwards won by easy decision, Diaz left him badly shaken in the fifth round, a moment Diaz has held up as a point of pride ever since. Edwards then defeated Kamaru Usman for the UFC welterweight title and is scheduled to defend it against Belal Muhammad in the main event of UFC 304 on July 27.
On Saturday, Diaz won by scorecards for the first time in nearly five years, and when asked for his opinion on Masvidal's criticism of the call, Diaz suggested Masvidal's powerful punches weren't as effective as they appeared.
“I think he landed some harder punches and was going for a KO, but he didn't get anything done,” Diaz said. “I was never really hurt. He hit me a couple of times, but I was like, 'All right, son of a bitch, I'm not gonna let him do that again.' [less] If it had been 10 rounds I think I could have done more damage, but it was 10 rounds so that's how I treated it.”
Another of Diaz's former opponents made headlines on fight day when Conor McGregor tweeted that he'd bet $500,000 on Diaz to beat Masvidal, despite being a near 3-to-1 underdog. McGregor said that his six-figure bet paid out $1.625 million when Diaz won.
Diaz and McGregor fought in two blockbuster UFC bouts in 2016, each winning the series, and Diaz was perplexed when he heard about McGregor's gambling success.
“Great,” Diaz said with a grin. “It's a good job for us.”
