Nate Diaz-Jorge Masvidal moving to July 6 in Anaheim
To avoid a conflict with UFC 302 on June 1, the pay-per-view light-heavyweight boxing match between former UFC brawlers Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal will be shifted to July 6 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, an official involved in the change told BoxingScene Tuesday.
Diaz and Masvidal, who staged the UFC’s first “BMF” fight in 2019, were originally scheduled to fight at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., on June 1.
While Diaz is no longer under contract with UFC – he lost an Aug. 5, 2023, boxing match to Jake Paul – Masvidal is under a UFC contract. Diaz's loss to Paul is his only outing so far as a professional boxer. Masvidal also has just one pro fight, a majority decision win over the 1-11-2 Joseph Benjamin way back in 2005.
UFC 302, from Newark, N.J., will take place June 1 with a lightweight main event pitting Dustin Poirier against Islam Makhachev.
The Diaz-Masvidal boxing rematch, dubbed “Last Man Standing,” is scheduled for 10 rounds and will be produced by Fanmio.
Lance Pugmire has been a full-time boxing writer for nearly 20 years, serving now as BoxingScene’s U.S. Senior Writer and assistant producer for ProBoxTV’s “BoxingScene Today.” Pugmire capped a near 20-year career at the Los Angeles Times (sports investigations, NHL/MLB beat work, law enforcement/courts and boxing/UFC) to join The Athletic, and then USA Today. Pugmire’s stint at The Times started with the first Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez fight and the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jnr then-record pay-per-view, leading through a slew of ringside assignments at major bouts, including Mayweather-Pacquiao, Mayweather-Canelo and the Canelo-Golovkin trilogy. Lance’s appreciation for boxing is rooted in his admiration and appreciation for the fighters, gladiators who have proven to be the most forthcoming and candid of all the athletes he has interviewed over a career dating to 1990. Lance was honored to be named the 2022 winner of the Boxing Writers Association of America Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence and he’s collected many BWAA writing awards in categories ranging from breaking news to deep-dive long features.