On Saturday night, on the main card of the stacked UFC 211, Jorge Masvidal met Demian Maia in what appeared to be a welterweight number one contender fight.
In advance of this fight, Masvidal exuded confidence. He also stepped onto the canvas as a slight betting favorite. In the end, however, the Cuban-American became the latest victim of Maia’s incredible grappling skill. Though he seemed to dominate Maia on the feet while the bout was upright, he succumbed to four takedown attempts and gave up more than eight minutes of control time on the mat, ultimately losing by split decision as a result.
In the wake of this fight, many members of the MMA community seemed to be very impressed by Maia’s ability to shut down Masvidal’s game with his grappling. Former Strikeforce welterweight champ and UFC welterweight contender Nick Diaz, however, was not one of these impressed parties.
Shortly after UFC 211 wrapped up, Diaz took to Snapchat to share a quick assessment of Maia’s win. In his opinion, Maia did little more than squeeze Masvidal for three rounds, while Masvidal was actually able to do some damage with his punches. Given this, Diaz seems to be of the opinion that the judges got the decision wrong.
Nick Diaz's thoughts on Maia vs. Masvidal: pic.twitter.com/dkLps4cSBL
— Tom Taylor (@TomTayMMA) May 15, 2017
“How the fuck do you squeeze a guy the whole fight, get punched in the head a bunch of times, and win?” Diaz queried on Snapchat.
Whether it impressed Diaz or not, Demian Maia’s win is likely to have earned him his long-awaited welterweight title shot. Masvidal, meanwhile, is unlikely to lose much ground in defeat, but will now return to the crowded welterweight contendership race.
Diaz has not been seen in the cage since January of 2015, when he battled Anderson Silva in a fight that would ultimately be ruled a no contest.
What did you think of Demian Maia’s defeat of Jorge Masvidal?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 5/15/2017.