Jorge Masvidal, who is set to face Nate Diaz in a boxing match this Saturday, has intensified his competitive drive and personal animosity following a chaotic brawl between their teams at a recent press conference.
Jorge Masvidal is all about competition. But a little bad blood never hurt to sell a fight.
“Gamebred” meets Nate Diaz in the boxing ring this Saturday. It’s nearly five years after their first meeting at UFC 244, where Masvidal won by doctor stoppage to become the inaugural “BMF” champion.
For the most part, Masvidal and Diaz have spoken respectfully of each other. Both fighters became fan favorites in the UFC for their exciting styles and unfiltered personalities.
That realness bubbled over in a chaotic way when their teams threw down following a June 7 press conference in Anaheim, Calif. After that, all bets are off for Masvidal.
“At the end of the day for me, it’s just competing,” Masvidal said at a media scrum in Los Angeles. “This one, there’s more at stake than the last one because every fight has led to this.”
“So I take every fight with the same amount of caution and respect. Whoever I’m fighting has two hands, you know?
“Now, on a personal level, yeah, I don’t like this dude at all,” he added. “For what happened with my coach and shit.”
“But we’ll figure it out July 6 when we get in there.”
During the brief scrap, several punches were landed by members of both teams before they were separated. Masvidal flipped the switch when he returned to the gym following the incident.
“It went from boxing setting to kill setting,” he said. “That’s all I want to do is hurt this dude bad.”
One prominent figure in the post-press conference brawl was Diaz teammate Nick Kohring aka “Killshot.” He can be seen engaging one-on-one with someone on Masvidal’s side.
Kohring holds a 13-2 record and recently competed in bare-knuckle boxing for BKFC this past March. He defeated Kyle McElroy by first-round knockout.
Had Masvidal been aware of his history, he might have been more aggressive with Kohring. As it stands, he’s confident Killshot will get what’s coming to him one way or another.
“I’m into scrapping,” he concluded. “Especially if you mess with my people.”