Former UFC competitors Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz, who now run their own fighting promotions, are open to collaborating as partners and competitive promoters potentially pitting their rosters against each other.
Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz were once notable figures in the UFC octagon, but have since stepped out of the ring and into the promotional arena. Masvidal particularly sees the potential for profitable partnerships and promotional competition on the horizon. The two former athletes battled for the ‘BMF’ title, and are now prominent figures in the promotion of various fights.
Masvidal announced his retirement from the sport after losing to Gilbert Burns at UFC 287 in April. On the other hand, Diaz ended his contract with the UFC after achieving a win against Tony Ferguson at UFC 279 in September. Diaz has established his own promotion titled Real Fight, Inc., and recently co-promoted a boxing card in collaboration with Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions. Contrarily, Masvidal manages multiple fight promotions, such as Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA and Gamebred Boxing.
Masvidal has expressed his interest in working with Diaz in the future. Aside from acting as co-promoters, he also plans for Diaz to compete in one of his many promotions. He mentioned in an interview, “Oh, definitely, just because of how good of a fighter he always was. His business is always welcome. Business is business and there’s a ton of money that me and Nate could make together. On my end, there’s no bitter feelings to any of that.”
In terms of expanding the business, Masvidal is ready to consider new ideas, even a possible face-off between his Gamebred fighters and those from Diaz’s Real Fight Inc. Masvidal spoke excitedly about the possibilities, saying, “That would be insane. Maybe he has one of his fighters that he wants to put against one of my fighters. I know he has a couple of signed heavyweights in his promotion, we could definitely do some of the guys I got signed against his guys… I’ll pick my 10 fighters, he can pick his 10 fighters, and just go to war, and then me and him could put some cash money bets on the side.”