Nick Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal is a go, Dana White revealed following Saturday’s UFC 231 in Toronto.
The long-rumored scrap between Nick Diaz and Jorge Masvidal is a go, UFC President Dana White said Sunday morning following UFC 231. The bout, which has been the worst kept secret in MMA of late, has been brewing for what seems like months, targeted for UFC 235. White’s confirmation at the post-fight press conference in Toronto means we might finally see one of the Diaz brothers back in action, years removed from his last trip to the octagon.
“Yes, White answered when asked if Diaz vs. Masvidal was on. “So somebody was just telling me earlier, that we didn’t announce that. Is that true?” There had, in fact, been no official word on the bout. Until now. “As far as I know, sitting right here, right now, that fight is on. As far as I know that fight is on. I’ve been here since Tuesday. Unless something happened since Tuesday, which is very possible,” White added.
While White said the UFC had nothing going on with brother Nate, at least Nick Diaz will be back in action. Diaz (26-9, 2NC) has fought just twice in the last five years, losing to Georges St. Pierre at UFC 158 in 2013, then facing Anderson Silva at UFC 183. He lost that bout, only to have the result overturned to a No Contest when Silva failed a drug test. Diaz also failed his UFC 158 drug test for marijuana metabolites, resulting in a suspension. An additional suspension for whereabouts failures under USADA, and accusations of domestic violence that were later dismissed with prejudice, then dogged attempts to get back in the octagon.
Jorge Masvidal (32–13) last fought against Stephen Thompson at UFC 217 over a year ago. That put him on a two-fight losing streak, with the other loss coming to Demian Maia at UFC 211. Masvidal sat out the first half of 2018, nursing injuries and filming a reality TV series. He’s been chomping at the bit to get back in action since, however, agreeing to fight Leon Edwards previously, though the bout was never finalized.
UFC 235 takes place March 2 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV.
