Nate Diaz Explains Jorge Masvidal Callout: You’ve Got to Recognize the Best in the Game

Nate Diaz was gone for three years, but he didn’t miss a beat at UFC 241.

The Stockton, Calif., native battered Anthony Pettis in close quarters and outgrappled the former lightweight champion en route to a unanimous decision victory on Saturday night. Diaz nearly secured the finish in Round 3, when he unloaded with a series of knees against the fence that had his opponent reeling. While Pettis survived, Diaz had done more than enough to earn a victory in his first Octagon appearance since Aug. 20, 2016.

“I wasn’t sure if there would be some rust or not so I just treated it like there might be and just went, you know? I didn’t want to sit around and think about it, just ignore it and go,” Diaz said.

Diaz drew perhaps the loudest ovation of any fighter from those in attendance at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif, and those cheers grew even louder when he called out Jorge Masvidal following his victory. At Saturday’s post-fight press conference, Diaz explained why he has targeted Masvidal.

“You’ve got to recognize who is the best and who the best in the game is…and it’s not who they’re saying it is…it’s who I’m saying it is,” Diaz said. “It’s the guys that have been in here forever and who are still on top of the game. Pettis just knocked out [Stephen] Thompson, who was just fighting for the 170 title a whole bunch of times. He fought Pettis and Pettis knocked his ass out real quick. Who’s the real baddest in the 170 division?

“They were trying to pump up dude [Ben Askren] and then Masvidal goes in there and knocks his ass out. I started fighting in 2004 I think…and then he’s been around since then and maybe a little longer. He just did that and I just did that, so that’s the best fighter to me; the best martial artist that’s still on top of the game.”

Masvidal’s stock has never been higher following back-to-back first-round finishes of Darren Till and Ben Askren. His five-second flying knee KO of Askren, a previously unbeaten welterweight who had captured titles in both One Championship and Bellator, is on the short list of candidates for best knockout of 2019. Masvidal had recently angled for a 170-pound title shot, but with Colby Covington next in line, the popular Diaz could be an appealing alternative option. When cameras found Masvidal at his cageside seat, “Gamebred” certainly didn’t seem upset about Diaz’s callout.

More importantly, Diaz isn’t planning on taking another lengthy hiatus following his latest Octagon triumph. In fact, it sounds as if sooner would be better for the former lightweight title challenger. Of course, the price has to be right – no matter who the opponent might be.

“If everything works out how it’s supposed to work out, then sh--t, I’ll fight next month,” he said. “If nobody is in a hurry to get this done and do it right and treat it like it’s meant to be treated, I ain’t in no rush. It’s not going to be me who is sitting out; it’s gonna be them holding me out or people not jumping on it and trying to get it done. That’s where I’ve been for the last three years because I never stopped training camps. Nobody was showing me anything for being the best fighter in the world, which I am, just like Masvidal, that’s what I’m saying.”

“I’m the best martial artist in the world. I’m not like these hold onto you wrestlers who are going to hold you and hopefully win a round and find a loophole to winning these fights and putting belts on their waists,” Diaz continued. “Now we’re fighting for the ‘Baddest mother---er in the game’ belt and that’s mine…I’d like to defend it against Jorge Masvidal. Baddest mother---ers, that’s how we’re going to do this.”