Michael Bisping thinks Nate Diaz will suffer the same fate against Jorge Masvidal in the boxing ring.
Diaz and Masvidal will run things back in a 10-round, 175-pound boxing match June 1 at Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The bout will stream on Fanmiopay-per-view at a $79.99 price point ($49.99 for pre-orders through April 12).
Masvidal stopped Diaz by third-round doctor’s stoppage TKO in their “BMF” title fight at UFC 244 in November 2019. Although he used a kick-heavy approach to set up his hands, Bisping doesn’t see a change in rules helping Diaz against Masvidal, whom he rates as the cleaner boxer.
“Now in terms of who I think wins this fight, I have already alluded to it, I’ve got Masvidal winning this one,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. He won the first one. The first one was kind of a beatdown.
“Yeah, it was stopped with a cut, but the cut came because Masvidal was all over him. He was faster, he was more powerful, and he was more technical, and I do not see much changing.”
Masvidal, 39, will compete for the first time since retiring from MMA in April 2023. Diaz, 38, fell short in his boxing debut when he lost a unanimous decision to Jake Paul in a 10-round, 185-pound bout this past August.
“Nate Diaz isn’t a bad striker, but he’s a better jiu-jitsu guy,” Bisping added. “He’s a far better mixed martial artist. … He’s a boxer with jiu-jitsu but not the best boxer, not the fastest, not the quickest, and the version we saw against Jake Paul, he was a bit out of shape, as well. He struggled a little bit, and he did hit the canvas.”
For more on the fight, visit MMA Junkie’s hub for Diaz vs. Masvidal 2.
