Nate Diaz has said goodbye to the fight game and is no longer interested in a rematch with his UFC 244 foe Jorge Masvidal.
Diaz returned to the Octagon from a three-year hiatus to fight Anthony Pettis at UFC 241. He won this fight via unanimous decision. Last weekend, Diaz went on to face Jorge Masvidal for the “BMF” belt in one of the most highly anticipated matchups of the year. In this fight, which headlined UFC 244, both fighters showed incredible heart and toughness, but Masvidal gave a stronger performance. The fight was stopped by the doctor at the end of the third round due to a cut above Diaz’s eye, leaving “Gamebred” to claim BMF gold.
Frustrated by the anti-climatic finish, Diaz immediately called for a rematch against Masvidal. On the contrary, UFC President Dana White admitted he had little interest in booking an immediate rematch between Masvidal and Diaz.
Diaz has never claimed the welterweight championship throne but has undoubtedly faced some of the toughest opponents in UFC history. The BMF contender has defeated Conor McGregor, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, Michael Johnson, Gray Maynard, Jim Miller, to name a small few.
It is believed that the Stockton native walked away with a hefty paycheque for his BMF showdown. However, Diaz needs more than a financial incentive to fight again. In his recent Instagram post, he led fans to believe that he is leaving the fight game for good.
See what he said below:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4joEhVg6Aa/
“F*ck a rematch this shit was over before it started
I’m goin on out on tour
Peace out fight game.” – Nate Diaz on Instagram/
Unsurprisingly, the MMA community was rocked by this news and many took to Twitter to share their thoughts.
Check out reactions from UFC fighters and industry experts below:
Nate Diaz's version of "thanks for the cheese" https://t.co/B8HWFVuE4A
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) November 7, 2019
— JIMI MANUWA (@POSTERBOYJM) November 6, 2019
https://twitter.com/bjpenndotcom/status/1192357458146054144
https://twitter.com/chisanga_malata/status/1192375197170651136?s=21
Congrats on beating the system kid https://t.co/gsZNLBZezu
— phil baroni (@philbaroni) November 7, 2019
So if @NateDiaz209 truly has decided to walk away from not only a rematch with Masvidal but the fight game itself, all I have to say is this….THANK YOU NATE. Thank you for bring swagger to the sport for being a legit bad ass and fighting with heart. Thank you for being real bro pic.twitter.com/mxEZcomSGU
— Devin Storm (@DamonSmith34) November 7, 2019
He’s not retiring, he’s taking a break. Won’t stop fair weather MMA fans from turning their back on him, though. Fuck em. https://t.co/PKfR8Iv1I5
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) November 7, 2019
No matter what happens, we are lucky to have Nate Diaz in MMA
— Chris Taylor (@CTaylor_96) November 7, 2019
Do you think Diaz is relaly leaving the world of fighting for good?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 11/7/2019.