Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal have exchanged many verbal jabs, but they have one thing in common: a hatred for Jake Paul.
They put their rivalry aside for a moment at a press event in New York earlier this week to start a “F*** Jake Paul” chant with the crowd.
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Both fighters have been embroiled in their own bitter feuds with “The Problem Child” over the past two years.
Masvidal and Paul have already discussed the idea of settling scores in the squared circle to no avail after exchanging numerous barbs on social media.
Meanwhile, Diaz was defeated at the distance by the YouTuber-turned-boxer last year in a professional boxing bout.
At the UFC Legends’ press conference on Tuesday ahead of their upcoming clash, Masvidal was asked about Diaz’s loss to Paul.
Rather than taking the opportunity to disparage his opponent, Masvidal insisted the Stockton southpaw only went down because he didn’t take the fight seriously enough.
Masvidal said: “I don’t think he was training for this guy and I don’t blame him, because who is Jake anyway, right?”
A “F*** Jake Paul” chant then broke out from part of the crowd as Masvidal and Diaz joined in and got the entire room screaming it at the top of their lungs.
Diaz was supposed to face Paul in MMA after his boxing loss, but nothing has materialized yet.
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For now, he’ll have to focus on the task ahead: a ten-round boxing bout with Masvidal on June 1 at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California.
Masvidal beat Diaz in MMA five years ago to win the symbolic BMF (Baddest Motherf*****) belt at UFC 244, but now Diaz has the chance to get revenge in the boxing ring.
Rumors have been circulating since early last year, but it took until March for it to be officially announced.
Masvidal insists the delay was because Diaz was a “diva” in negotiations.
“At one point, because Vegas was sold out, a lot of seats were booked, New York was a strong possibility and he was like, ‘I won’t fight if it’s in New York. I won’t fight,'” he told MMA Hour on Monday.
“I was like, ‘What the fuck? What’s the problem? It’s boxing. It was in MMA (where) you got yelled at. But I understand. Okay ‘.
“Then another diva moment, he said he wouldn’t fight either if the fight took place in Miami.
“‘I don’t fight if it’s in Miami.’ OK, cool. “Well, last time I had a bad experience with my boxing match in Texas, so I’m not fighting in Texas.”
“What the hell?! To book a venue of this magnitude, it’s not like it can happen in a week or a weekend.
“It happens months in advance. … So all these problems and it’s like, man, I’m just trying to fight.
“What are you trying to do? It could have been April in a different location, but this guy wasn’t trying to do it, so it was very diva.”
Diaz claims these are his masters’ stipulations and not his own.
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