Following a big victory over former UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis, Diaz made another bold move and called out Jorge Masvidal, who’s star was quickly on the rise in 2019.
While Masvidal has been fighting since 2003, the welterweight’s popularity rose thanks his performance at UFC Fight Night 147, which ultimately led to a KO win over Darren Till. The Florida native then set a record at UFC 239, where “Gamebred” got the fast KO win over Ben Askren in five seconds thanks to a flying knee.
2019 was a strong comeback year for Masvidal, especially since he entered his bout against Darren Till on a two-fight losing streak. Going in, Masvidal had a record of 34 wins and 13 losses.
Nate Diaz made his grand return at UFC 241 and reminded fans and critics why he’s one of the best inside of the octagon. The Stockton native was the first man to beat Conor Mcgregor in UFC and he also owns victories over Donald Cerrone (via unanimous decision at UFC 141), Gray Maynard (via TKO at The Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale), and Michael Johnson (via unanimous decision at UFC on Fox 17). Going in, Pettis had a record of 20 wins and 11 losses.
Jorge Masvidal proved that he was the baddest mother**ker during his bout against Diaz at UFC 244. His KO propelled him into becoming the next challenger for the 170-pound belt at UFC 251. Check out the Diaz/Masvidal fight below: