Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal have traded plenty of verbal jabs, but they have one thing in common – a hatred for Jake Paul.
They put their rivalry aside for a moment during a press event in New York earlier this week to start a ‘F*** Jake Paul’ chant with the crowd.
Both fighters have been embroiled in their own bitter feuds with ‘The Problem Child’ over the last couple of years.
Masvidal and Paul have previously teased the idea of settling their score in the squared circle to no avail having exchanged numerous barbs on social media.
Meanwhile, Diaz was defeated over the distance by the YouTuber-turned-boxer last year in a pro boxing bout.
During the UFC legends’ press conference on Tuesday ahead of their upcoming clash, Masvidal was quizzed on Diaz’s loss to Paul.
Rather than taking the opportunity to bash his adversary, Masvidal insisted the Stockton southpaw had only fallen to defeat because he hadn’t taken the fight seriously enough.
Masvidal said: “I don’t think he was training for that dude and I don’t blame him because who the hell is Jake anyway, right?”
A ‘F*** Jake Paul’ chant then broke out in a section of the crowd as Masvidal and Diaz joined in and got the whole room to bellow it out at the top of their lungs.
Diaz was supposed to be rematching Paul in MMA after his loss in boxing but nothing has come to fruition as of yet.
For now, he will have to focus on the task that lies ahead – a ten-round boxing bout with Masvidal on June 1 at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California.
Masvidal defeated Diaz in MMA five years ago to pick up the symbolic BMF (Baddest Motherf*****) belt at UFC 244 but Diaz now has the chance to get revenge in the boxing ring.
The fight has been rumoured since early last year, but it took until March for it to be officially announced.
Masvidal insists the delay was due to Diaz being a ‘diva’ in negotiations.
“At one point, because Vegas was booked out, a lot of places were booked out, New York was a strong possibility and he was like, ‘I won’t fight if it’s in New York. I won’t fight’,” he told the MMA Hour on Monday.
“I was like, ‘What the f***? What’s the beef? This is boxing. That was in MMA [where] you got your a** whooped. But I get it. Alright’.
“Then another diva moment, he said he also wouldn’t fight if the fight’s in Miami.
“‘I’m not fighting if it’s in Miami.’ OK, cool. ‘Well, last time I had a bad experience with my boxing match in Texas, so I’m not fighting in Texas.’
“What the f***?! To book a venue of that magnitude, it’s not like it can happen in a week or a weekend.
“It happens months in advance. … So all these problems and it’s like, dude, I’m just trying to f****** fight.
“What are you trying to do? It could have been in April in a different place, but this dude wasn’t trying to do it so that just felt very diva-ish.”
Diaz claims these were his handlers’ stipulations and not his.
News Summary:
- Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal put aside rivarly to start ‘F*** Jake Paul’ chant
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