Jorge Masvidal has a grudge match with Colby Covington to prepare for, but that has not stopped the UFC star from hitting out at another rival in Nate Diaz.
Masvidal defeated Diaz at New York City’s Madison Square Garden in 2019, beating his fellow American via doctor stoppage in a rare non-title UFC pay-per-view main event.
The pair displayed mutual respect after the fight, with Masvidal suggesting that a rematch was necessary due to the manner of his win, though a second bout between the welterweights has not yet come to pass.
Masvidal has fought twice since his contest with Diaz in November 2019, losing to welterweight champion Kamaru Usman on both occasions. Diaz, meanwhile, has fought once since his loss to Masvidal, suffering a points defeat by Leon Edwards last June.
With one fight left on Diaz’s UFC contract, it is unclear whom the Californian will face next, while Masvidal is scheduled to take on friend-turned-rival Covington in the UFC 272 main event on 5 March. As with “Gamebred”’s clash with Diaz, the fight will be one of just a small number of UFC pay-per-view headline bouts to not see a title contested.
When asked on a live Q&A whether he would fight Diaz again after facing Covington, Masvidal said: “That motherf****r doesn’t want it, man.
“I almost damn near killed him, I beat him an inch within his f*****g skinny life. You saw his last fight with Leon.
“I was like: ‘Man, they make that mistake and put this guy in there with me again, you know? He’s not trying to fight, that little f*****g broomstick keeps talking. You’re going to have to go at some point, you know?
“[When] I take Colby’s a** out, if I gotta wait for Usman, it could be [Diaz] that gets this a**-whooping, bro.
“Let’s f*****g go, man, I’m gonna break your f****g* face, bro.”
Masvidal, 37, and upcoming opponent Covington both face tough roads back to a title shot. Like Masvidal, Covington has lost to Usman twice, most recently in November.
Having been stopped by the champion in the fifth round in 2019, Covington went the distance with Usman last time out.
Usman is expected to defend the welterweight belt against Edwards this summer. If the Briton were win the title, Masvidal and Covington’s chances of fighting for the gold would improve greatly.
Masvidal was in fact scheduled to fight Edwards in December but withdrew from that bout due to injury. The pair were involved in a backstage altercation at UFC London in 2019, with fans calling for a fight between the welterweights ever since.
