Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal set for June 1 PPV boxing match
Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal are running things back.
The two UFC veterans are set to rematch in a 10-round pay-per-view boxing match on June 1 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles. MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani broke the news Wednesday on The MMA Hour. The bout will be contested at 175 pounds and mark Masvidal’s second professional boxing bout following a 2005 win over Joseph Benjamin. Diaz previously made his in-ring debut in a August 2023 decision loss to Jake Paul.
The bout will be carried on pay-per-view by Fanmio for $79.99, with an early price of $49.99 available until April 12, and presented by the fighters’ two promotional arms, Diaz’s Real Fight Inc. and Masvidal’s Gamebred Boxing Promotions. Diaz and Masvidal previously fought in November 2019 at UFC 244, with Masvidal defeating Diaz via third-round TKO to claim the inaugural BMF belt after a cageside doctor halted the contest due to cuts.
“Nate’s a dead man walking,” Masvidal said in a statement given to MMA Fighting. “I can’t wait to prove that last time was no fluke. He got saved by the referee. Now we are boxing, which he says is his forte, but he’s got no shot at beating me. I’m not going to give him an inch in that ring to even breathe. If he thought our MMA match was bad, this is going to be much worse. I’m going to drown him. I want to put away any talk that him and I are the same, or that the referee saved the day. All of that talk ends June 1.”
Diaz (21-13 MMA) exited the UFC off a win over Tony Ferguson in 2022 following a 15-year run with the company that saw him emerge as a global superstar. Over that time, Diaz served as a pioneer of the lightweight division and defeated the likes of Conor McGregor, Anthony Pettis, Jim Miller, Donald Cerrone, Gray Maynard, and Takanori Gomi.
Masvidal (35-17 MMA) also blossomed into a superstar over his 10-year UFC run, challenging twice for the UFC welterweight title and earning the fastest knockout in UFC history with his five-second flying knee of Ben Askren in June 2019 at UFC 239. Masvidal retired from combat sports this past April following a decision loss to Gilbert Burns, but now returns from the sidelines to make his debut in the sweet science against his one-time foe.