A BMF championship rematch between recent UFC welterweight title challenger, Jorge ‘Gamebred’ Masvidal and TUF victor, Nate Diaz is currently targeted to take place at a UFC pay-per-view event in January – with a date, location, and venue yet to be determined by the organization.
American Top Team staple, Masvidal will make his first Octagon appearance since July at UFC 251 on ‘Fight Island’ where he drafted in on short-notice, replacing Gilbert Burns in a welterweight title matchup with Kamaru Usman. Dropping his first defeat since a string of three high-profile stoppages, Masvidal lost via a one-sided unanimous decision.
Failing to make the Octagon walk since his UFC 255 headliner at Madison Square Garden last November opposite Masvidal – fan-favourite veteran, Diaz will look to rebound from a controversial third-round doctor’s stoppage defeat. News of the targeted re-run was initially reported by TMZ Sports, with ESPN reporter, Ariel Helwani detailing how the pairing was in fact earmarked for January rather than UFC 256 on December 12th.
Prior to his short-notice loss to the above mentioned, Usman – Floridian striker, Masvidal had notched the BMF title in a win over Diaz, after a sensational 2019 which included a record-setting flying-knee stoppage of Ben Askren, after a March knockout of Darren Till.
A stalwart in the promotion, Stockton Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace, Diaz cut a lengthy hiatus last August at UFC 241 – to pick up a unanimous decision win over former UFC and WEC lightweight titleholder, Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis. Diaz is best remembered for his pair of clashes with former two-weight world champion, ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor, becoming the first in the UFC to defeat the Dubliner in their short-notice UFC 196 main event in early 2016.
