It seems quite clear that Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal are ready to throw down.
Diaz called out ‘Gamebred’ following his impressive return win over Anthony Pettis at last weekend’s UFC 241 from Anaheim. He explained just why he wanted to face Masvidal shortly after the event. Masvidal’s manager Abe Kawa then revealed the surging veteran was looking to take on Diaz in his own backyard of California.
Kawa claimed he was going to begin negotiations for the fight this week. Masvidal later echoed that sentiment and took it a step further. He claimed negotiations had already begun for the huge match.
But UFC president Dana White seems to think everyone needs to slow their rolls for the time being. Speaking after his ‘Contender Series’ bouts from Las Vegas last night, White seemed somewhat standoffish about the topic. He claimed he hadn’t confirmed the bout after UFC 241, but only agreed it was a great fight (via MMA Junkie):
“Why, did I say I was doing Diaz and Masvidal on Saturday (at the UFC 241 post-event news conference)?” White said. “Well … they asked me, and I said, ‘Who doesn’t want to see that fight?’”
White then revealed there had been no progress made on the fight as of this time:
“No, no progress,” White insisted.
You can take those words with a grain of salt, really, as we’ve White say one thing before the opposite happened only a short while later. And there’s reason to suggest that’s just the case regarding this high-profile situation.
It’s difficult to envision too many non-title fights that are capable of headlining a UFC pay-per-view (PPV) right now.
Diaz vs. Masvidal is undoubtedly at the top of that short list. It may be the only one, in fact. There’s the West Coast vs. East Coast dynamic in play, of course, but at the heart of the matter lies one major motivator. That’s the fact both Diaz and Masvidal bring it each and every time out to the cage, making their potential match-up one for the ages. The UFC could and should get this fight signed on the dotted line, and soon.
Is Dana White throwing up a smokescreen concerning Diaz vs. Masvidal?
