Former UFC welterweights Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal have unfinished business and the two will rematch inside the boxing ring at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. on July 6.
The two fought for the inaugural “BMF” belt at UFC 244 in November 2019. Masvidal won via doctor stoppage due to a cut at the concluding of the third round. The stoppage didn’t sit well with Diaz.
Masvial in 1-0 as a professional boxer but hasn’t had a boxing match since June 2005. Diaz made his professional boxing debut last August, losing to Jake Paul via unanimous decision.
On Thursday, a press conference was held to promote the event.
Jake Paul vs. Mike Perry may be happening, but a much more shocking replacement bout almost filled the void once Mike Tyson withdrew from his July 20 date with Paul.
That’s according to Paul’s longtime business partner and MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian, who revealed Wednesday on The MMA Hour that the duo floated the idea of an interfamily matchup between both Paul brothers, Jake and older brother Logan, to preserve the July 20 date with broadcast partner Netflix once Tyson was ruled out for medical reasons.
“We said to Netflix, we could get the two of them to agree to do it on July 20th on Netflix,” Bidarian revealed Wednesday on The MMA Hour. “I think Netflix saw it as a phenomenal, massive event, with not enough run-up [time] to do it the right way.”
All parties involved ultimately decided to postpone Paul vs. Tyson to Nov. 15 and preserve that bout as the debut of live combat sports on Netflix. Paul then inked a deal with broadcast partner DAZN to face UFC veteran and BKFC star Perry on July 20 at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. Bidarian on Wednesday called Perry the perfect test to determine whether Paul is ready for a Hall of Fame boxing talent like the 58-year-old Tyson.
But there is no doubt a boxing match between the Paul brothers could be one of the biggest fights currently available in all of combat sports. Jake and Logan are both global superstars in their own rights, and there has been plenty of sibling drama within their relationship throughout their careers as online influencers, athletes, and entrepreneurs.
“They have the utmost love for each other, but there is a competitive nature between them, absolutely,” Bidarian said. “This is an older brother, younger brother dynamic always, right? And I do believe you’ll see that fight at some point. And there is not one ounce of wrestling [manufactured drama] in it. It is 100 percent real.”
“Yeah, I do. I do,” Bidarian reiterated when asked if he’s confident the fight will one day happen.
Between Perry and Tyson, Jake Paul already has next two boxing bouts booked, while Logan remains busy with his own athletic endeavors as the current WWE United States Champion, so Bidarian declined to give a timeline for the matchup other than “to be determined.”
Nonetheless, whether it happens in concert with Netflix or another broadcast partner, Bidarian won’t be surprised if we see a long-awaited battle of the Paul brothers before all is said and done.
“That feels like a massive global event no matter what, because it’s two brothers putting it all on the line,” Bidarian said. “So I think it’s a great event no matter [what platform it’s on].”
Photo by Louis Grasse/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Former UFC welterweight rivals Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal will stage a final pre-fight press conference this afternoon, LIVE at 4:30 p.m. ET in the embedded video above. Diaz rematches “Gamebred” under boxing rules on Sat., July 6, 2024 from inside Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., a pay-per-view (PPV) spectacle priced at $ 49.99.
Today’s press conference also features two-time world champion Daniel “The Miracle Man” Jacobs and red-hot rival Shane Mosley Jr., who meet in the “Last Man Standing” co-main event. Devin Cushing, Manuel Correa, and former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis are also scheduled to take the stage for Thursday’s media festivities.
Diaz, who is 0-1 in the “sweet science” after getting knocked around by Jake Paul last summer, will be looking to avenge his UFC 244 loss to Masvidal (1-0), which ended by way of doctor’s stoppage after Diaz suffered a fight-ending cut. Diaz vs. Masvidal 2 will be contested across 10 rounds at 175 pounds (light heavyweight).
“He won the first fight but I’m back for more, so that’s what’s popping,” Diaz said at their kickoff press conference earlier this year. “This is a new fight and I’m here to win. I expect him to do what he’s gotta do in there. He’s got a good coach and he’s doing what he’s supposed to do in training, but I’ve been doing this a long time. We’ll see how it goes for him.”
For much more on this weekend’s “Last Man Standing” boxing event click here.
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Mayra Bueno Silva | Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images
Mayra Bueno Silva didn’t agree with the stoppage in her most recent fight, but it looks like officials made the right call if the aftermath is any indication.
Macy Chiasson scored a doctor stoppage win over Silva this past Saturday at UFC 303 after opening a grotesque cut over Silva’s right eye with an elbow. Despite Silva’s protests, the bout was waved off a little under two minutes into the second round and Chiasson was declared the winner.
On Tuesday, Silva shared an image of the wound post-stitches to her social media and it’s fair to say there is still plenty of healing to be done.
Mayra Bueno Silva quedó como pelota de Baseball gracias al corte que le propinó Macy Chiasson. pic.twitter.com/lAwpPpd5mO
— Fanáticos del MMA GT (@fanaticosMMAGT) July 2, 2024
Though Chiasson was surely pleased with her performance, the competitors were on pace for a potential Fight of the Night award after an entertaining first round. Unfortunately for Silva, the large gash on her head prompted the ringside physician to step in and make the call that Silva could not safely continue.
It was a tough break for Silva, who loses back-to-back fights for the first time in her career. This past January at UFC 297, she lost a five-round decision to Raquel Pennington in a clash for the vacant UFC bantamweight title.
Slated to return at the end of this month in the co-main event of UFC 304 in Manchester, current interim heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall has once again welcomed the chance to take on light heavyweight kingpin, Alex Pereira in the future – claiming he “absolutely” wants to tackle the Brazilian.
Aspinall, the current interim heavyweight champion, will return to the Octagon later this month in the co-headliner of UFC 304, taking on former-foe, Curtis Blaydes – in a defense of his interim crown.
Sharing the card with the above-mentioned Sao Paulo knockout artist, Pereira back in November of last year at UFC 295, Aspinall snatched the interim heavyweight crown with a stunning knockout win against the streaking, Sergei Pavlovich at Madison Square Garden.
Tom Aspinall offers to take on Alex Pereira at heavyweight
And linked continually with a heavyweight fight against former two-weight champion, Pereira – who called for his own divisional leap off the back of his high-kick knockout against Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303 last weekend, Aspinall is all ears to a clash in the near future.
“As we’ve seen with me, I’m not shying away from anybody,” Tom Aspinall told talkSPORT reporter, Jordan Ellis. “So, if the UFC wanna do that [a fight versus Alex Pereira], I’m happy to do that. I think as an elite level fighter myself, you can’t help but be impressed with what Alex Pereira has done over the last couple of years. I mean, this time two years ago, nobody had a clue who he was, now he’s one of the biggest stars in MMA – one of the best fighters in UFC history.”
“I really, really respect what he’s done,” Tom Aspinall explained. “Does that mean that I don’t wanna fight him? I absolutely wanna fight him, but I’m sure there’ll be a time and a place for it. I’m not jumping ahead of things right now, I’m fighting Curtis Blaydes now. If that’s what the UFC wanna do one day, then we’ll absolutely do it.”
Who wins in a future heavyweight clash: Tom Aspinall or Alex Pereira?
June was a big month for the UFC’s middleweight division with several top contenders in action as the upcoming title fight between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya draws closer.
Former champion Robert Whittaker could have announced himself as the number one contender had Khamzat Chimaev not withdrawn from their main event in Saudi Arabia.
Whittaker ended up facing Ikram Aliskerov where he produced a dominant display to earn a first-round finish.
Earlier in the month, there was controversy in the division after Nassourdine Imavov stopped Jared Cannonier in a call that many believe was made too soon.
Referee Jason Herzog waved the fight off in the fourth round with fans believing that he stopped the fight too early despite some worrying signs from Cannonier.
Robert Whittaker Does Not Envy The Thankless Role Of Being A MMA Referee
In an exclusive interview with MMA News, Whittaker said that he feels some sympathy towards MMA officials for the thankless jobs that they do.
“The Reaper” didn’t agree with the stoppage of that fight but he also didn’t want to be too negative about the call that Herzog made in this instance.
He stated that he understands the frustration of being on the wrong end of an early stoppage and having faced Cannonier in the past, knows that there is no quit in him.
However, Whittaker said that he does not envy the role of the referees, specifically referencing how they never get credit but will always get criticized when a mistake is made.
“Mate, being a ref’s hard. It’s a hard gig and it’s easy to point the finger at a ref for being trigger happy or pulling a fight too late or pulling a fight too short but man, the reality is their job is so hard. So hard. Nobody talks about a ref doing a good job, they only get hammered when they make a mistake or when it’s not to the liking of the fans. It’s a hard gig and I don’t have an opinion on it.”
Here are the some of the other topics Whittaker discussed in the exclusive interview that you can watch in the video above:
Being upset with the media for misrepresenting his injury issue heading into the Aliskerov fight
Reacting to his first KO finish in seven years
On refereeing and how he would change judging in MMA
Explaining his decision not to weigh in at UFC 305 as the backup fighter
Discussing Sean Strickland, Bo Nickal, and Conor McGregor
Predicting how a rematch goes against Dricus Du Plessis
Read More: VIDEO: Israel Adesanya Reacts To Longtime Rival Alex Pereira’s Knockout Of Jiří Procházka At UFC 303
Continue Reading Robert Whittaker Has Sympathy For Referees In MMA Despite Bad High-Profile Calls: ‘Nobody Talks About A Ref Doing A Good Job…’ (Exclusive) at MMA News.
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