If all goes according to plan for Jorge Masvidal in his UFC 251 matchup against champion Kamaru Usman, he’s already got his future title challengers in mind.
Speaking to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani about the matchup and possibly winning the UFC welterweight title, Masvidal laid out who he would be most willing to give a title shot to and the first opponent would be a rematch from a fan-favorite fight, Nate Diaz.
Masvidal beat Diaz back at UFC 244 last November, with the BMF title on the line—a title Diaz claimed he was defending. Masvidal won the fight by doctor’s stoppage and the current welterweight title challenger believes that fans deserved more action to that fight.
"When I get this title, nothing would be better than to give [Nate Diaz] the opportunity he gave me to fight for his BMF belt. Come on, come fight for this belt."@GamebredFighter wants to return the favor to @NateDiaz209 after #UFC251 (via @arielhelwani) pic.twitter.com/c5wswAaF7M
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 6, 2020
“There’s two guys that are on my radar heavy and Nate is definitely one of them,” Masvidal said. “Cause no matter what, it was a good fight, Nate or the world didn’t get the results that we wanted. I know Nate obviously wants to run it back, I’m telling you, speaking from the heart, I want to run it back. When I get this title, would nothing be better than to give [Diaz] the opportunity he gave me to fight for his BMF belt. Come on, come fight for this belt now.”
A potential rematch between Masvidal and Diaz would certainly bring a lot of hype and attention from the fans, but the other opponent he mentioned would be another rematch that he is looking to avenge.
“Another dude that we’re definitely going to be scrapping at some point is [Stephen] Thompson,” Masvidal said. “Not cause of anything personal, I got nothing but love and respect for this individual, I would just love to run it back. I think I could definitely do better than that night that we first met. I think I match up well. I would love to run it back with Thompson. That’s definitely something that will be happening.”
Back at UFC 217, Thompson beat Masvidal by unanimous decision. It was the last time Masvidal lost, and he has since go on to defeat Diaz, Ben Askren, and Darren Till during his meteoric rise in the UFC welterweight division.
Following the news that Jorge Masvidal would be stepping in for the main event to face Usman, Nate Diaz took to Twitter to give his thoughts on the matchup, showing his approval for the fight.