Getty Joe Rogan (R) interviews Nate Diaz during his weigh-in for UFC 202 at MGM Grand Conference Center on August 19, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Last week, multiple reports revealed that No. 4 ranked welterweight Jorge Masvidal is in talks to rematch No. 13 ranked Nate Diaz for the “Baddest Motherf****r” belt and No. 3 ranked Leon Edwards is not happy about it. According to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, the fight is being discussed for the pay-per-view card in January 2021.
Diaz and “Gamebred” fought in November 2019 at UFC 244. The fight went three rounds until it was called off due to a cut Diaz received courtesy of Masvidal. Before he won by doctor’s stoppage, Gamebred looked impressive and was ahead on the scorecards by a wide margin.
Edwards has taken notice of that and believes that Gamebred should be fighting him instead of Diaz. “Rocky” has been campaigning for a fight with Masvidal and a win over him would likely guarantee Edwards a shot at the welterweight title.
After the news broke that Diaz and Masvidal were in talks for their rematch, “Rocky” took aim at Masvidal. Edwards tweeted, “Could have fought number 3, yet chose to fight number [13]. Eventually this p***y will fight me, I’m all for money fights but watching two journey men go at it again when it wasn’t even competitive is a joke. And this is the ‘BMF.'”
Edwards Said to ESPN That Masvidal Can’t Call Himself the BMF If He Beats Diaz Again
On Monday, ESPN’s Brett Okamoto spoke with Edwards about Gamebred vs. Diaz.
Rocky said via Okamoto, “Stop being a p***y and f***in’ let’s fight, right? You say you’re Street Jesus and you’re [the] BMF, let’s prove the case. You can’t go out there and fight a guy you just f***in’ battered for three rounds and then do it again and say you’re the BMF. That’s not how it works, so stop being a p***y and step up.”
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Diaz Slammed Edwards for His Remarks to Masvidal
Diaz saw what Rocky said about Masvidal and took to Twitter on Monday night to respond.
Diaz wrote, “You got f***** up in the back for acting like you were tight. This fight s*** is the same everywere, in or out of the cage… don’t get punked ever. That goes for kabob also, you guys are in last place now lol.”
You got fucked up in the back for acting like you were tight.
This fight shit is the same everywere, in or out of the cage… don’t get punked ever.
That goes for kabob also,
you guys are in last place now lol
Diaz is referring to when Edwards and Masvidal got into a physical altercation backstage in March 2019. Gamebred was giving an interview after his KO win over Darren Till when Rocky made a comment to Masvidal. Gamebred answered and then abruptly stopped the interview to approach Edwards. The incident escalated quickly and Masvidal punched Rocky several times.
The altercation was broken up by onlookers and there has been bad blood between the two fighters ever since. See the infamous incident below:
Edwards Is on an 8-Fight Win Streak & Willing to Fight in 2020
Edwards has not fought since his dominant unanimous victory over former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos on July 20, 2019. He was set to fight former welterweight king Tyron Woodley earlier this year in London, England, but due to COVID-19, the event was moved to the United States and he was forced off the card.
Rocky is riding an 8-fight win streak and he is prepared to fight in 2020 to cement himself as the next welterweight title contender.
On September 19, No. 2 ranked welterweight Colby Covington is taking on No. 5 ranked Woodley and the winner of the fight would be a meaningful fit for Rocky’s next opponent. The winner of Rocky vs. Covington/Woodley could determine the legitimate next title contender behind No. 1 ranked Gilbert Burns. However, if the winner isn’t available to fight this year, Rocky still wants to compete in 2020 and would prefer a bigger name in the division.
In his interview with Okamoto, Edwards also expressed interest in fighting Nick Diaz should he return to MMA.
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