Diaz vs. Masvidal Start Time, Full Fight Card Details (2024)

There is no Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event this weekend, so to curb your combat appetite, former UFC stars Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal will go toe-to-toe in a boxing match later TONIGHT (Sat., July 6, 2024) from inside Honda Center in Anaheim, California. “Last Man Standing” event will be airing live on Fanmio PPV, which also streams LIVE on both DAZN and UFC Fight Pass.

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I don’t think there were too many people pining for a rematch between Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal — much less in a boxing ring — five years after “Gamebred” defeated the Stockton slugger via third-round technical knockout at UFC 244 to win the inaugural “BMF” title, but here we are. Since then, Masvidal has lost four straight fights inside the Octagon and ultimately retired after getting schooled by Gilbert Burns, ending his UFC career with a 12-10 mark. As for Diaz, he has only competed twice in MMA since losing to “Gamebred,” losing to Leon Edwards via unanimous decision at UFC 263 before bouncing back with a win against an over-the-hill Tony Ferguson at UFC 279 two years ago (highlights). By the way, Ferguson was coming into that fight on a four-fight losing streak, and has lost two more after coming up short against Diaz to up his losing streak to seven with his last win coming in 2019.

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My point is, Diaz and Masvidal are not at the peak of their careers in MMA, and in boxing, well, it’s not like they’ve carved out a space in that arena. Diaz did box Jake Paul in Aug. 2023 in his“sweet science” debut, and that dreadful performance was hard to watch, even against “The Problem Child.” Most expected Diaz to come out on top because of his pitter-patter style that made him somewhat of a fan favorite in MMA, but that style doesn’t translate into boxing, you need power, which Diaz has none of. As for Masvidal, sure he was a backyard brawler, but he’s never taken part in a pro boxing match and he was never exactly known for his knockout power in MMA, either.

The world of boxing has been a weird space over the last few years due to Jake Paul’s arrival, influencers thinking they can throw hands and old-timers wanting to come back to take part in the circus that sees company throw money at them for what are nothing more than exhibition bouts. Diaz and Masvidal are banking on their “star power” to be enough to sell PPV’s, but they will be in for a rude awakening. Even planting annoying social media influencers like “Neon” to stir the pot and taking part in team brawls — which is the norm for Diaz and Co. — isn’t going to be enough to convince hordes of people to shell out $49.99 — down from the original price of $79.99. If you do tune in, don’t expect to see world-class striking. On the contrary, I expect to see two fighters past their prime trying to hang on to relevancy in order to cash some checks. Good for them, not so much for fight fans.

Original Card vs. Actual Card:

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The event was originally set to take place on June 1, 2024, but the promoters — as well as Diaz and Masvidal — were smart enough to reschedule due to the fact that UFC 302: “Makhachev vs. Poirier” went down the same night. Going head-to-head with a major UFC PPV event is a lose-lose for most companies, so good on them for making the switch.

How The ‘Prelims’ Look:

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Alan Sanchez will battle local favorite, Louie Lopez, in an eight-round welterweight bout. Lopez is an aggressive fighter with a 15-2-2 record that will have the crowd behind him, as he is fighting out of Orange County, CA.. As for Sanchez, he is 23-5 and has spent time training with Nick and Nate Diaz. The Mexican-born fighter is coming in on a three-fight win streak.

Undefeated at 9-0, Kenny Lopez will face Andres Martinez in a six-round fight that will be contests at 168 pounds. Martinez is 4-1 in his young boxing career, making his pro boxing debut just last year.

In another welterweight matchup, former MMA fighters-turned boxers, Jose Aguayo and Bryce Logan, will collide in a four-round fight. Aguayo has a boxing record of 1-1, and holds an MMA record of 5-4. competing for Combat and on the PFL Challenger Series. As for the more well-known, Bryce Logan, he will be making his boxing debut after a 10-year career in MMA. Logan has competed for Victory FC, RFA, LFA and Belaltor MMA, and will now try to see what he can do with his boxing career.

In the lone heavyweight bout, Steven Dunn will battle Gabriel Aguilar Costa in a four-round scrap that likely won’t go the distance. That’s because Dunn has won all four of his pro boxing fights via KO/TKO, all of them in under three rounds. As for Costa, well, he hasn’t exactly lit it up in the ring, collecting an atrocious 3-7 record. It’s easy to see that Dunn — the local favorite — is being spoon-feed the Brazilian pugilist in the hopes of delivering a another knockout to the hometown crowd, which is very likely to happen.

Speaking of atrocious, Luciano Ramos will come into his opening fight of the night against Dan Hernandez having lost four straight and nine of his last 12, amassing a horrendous record of 8-12. As for Hernandez, he is 3-3 after making his pro debut two years ago. The American is the clear favorite against “El Aguila,” who hails from Argentina.

Interest Level: 5.5/10

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In the co-main event, former UFC lightweight champion, Anthony Pettis, will take on Diaz crew member, Chris Avila. Pettis — who is still an active MMA fighter with PFL and Bellator — made his “pro boxing” debut by defeating Roy Jones Jr. in April 2023. But let’s not get it twisted, it was a 54 year-old Roy Jones Jr., not the one fight fans pined to see in the the late 90’s early 2000’s, and faced the likes of John Ruiz, Felix Trinidad, Bernard Hopkins. I hate to discredit Pettis for that win, but this is why I hate seeing old-timers coming back to box way past their prime...it never turns out well. Nevertheless, Pettis vs. Avila is more of an even matchup. Pettis had long been known as one of the best and more creative strikers in all of MMA, while Avila — though he’s never done much in MMA with an 8-9 record — does have several boxing bouts under his belt. He has a record of 5-1, which includes wins over Anthony Taylor and former UFC star, Jeremy Stephens.

Ryan Garcia’s younger brother, Sean Garcia, will do battle with Amado Vargas, son of former world boxing champion, Fernando Vargas Jr. This fight is probably the one that will show two actual pro boxers showing their stuff. Sean (23) is 7-0-1, though he has yet to collect a knockout in his young boxing career. As for Vargas, he is undefeated at 10-0 and has four knockouts to his name. He has the boxing pedigree, having learned from his father and brothers since he was a child, so fighting is in his blood. The two men have built up a great rivalry, with Garcia vowing to end the Vargas dynasty, which didn’t sit too well with Amado during a recent press conference. This should be a great fight.

In another bout that should produce fireworks between to surging contenders, Devin Cushing and Manny Correa with throw down for eight rounds. Cushing is 6-0-1 and was close to making the Olympic boxing team in 2016 before an injury derailed his dreams. He has been trained by Roy Jones Sr. As for Correa, the Cuban striker has a record of 13-1 with six stoppage wins.

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Never did I think I would see someone like Daniel Jacobs fighting fourth on a boxing main card of an event headlined by Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal, but, again, here we are. Jacobs is the former WBA and IBF middleweight champion of the world, and has defeated the likes of Sergio Mora, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (when he was good), and came up short against living legends Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin. So, yes, it’s weird to see Jacobs fighting here because he is still a legit threat to win a title. He will be taking on Shane Mosley Jr., son of former world champion, “Sugar” Shane Mosley. Mosley possess a record of 21-4 with 12 knockouts on his resume. He is currently on a four-fight win streak and is eyeing a move up the pecking order with an impressive victory over Jacobs.

Opening up the main card will be a 135-pound bout between Curmel Moton and Nikolai Buzolin. Moton is just 18 years old but is being hyped as a future star. He is just 3-0 with two knockouts so far in his young combat career. As for Buzolin, he is twice his foe’s age at 36 with a paltry record of 9-8-1, though he does have five knockouts to his credit.

Enjoy the fights!

Full ‘Diaz vs. Masvidal’ Fight Card:

Fanmio/DAZN/UFC Fight Pass PPV Main Event:

175 lbs.: Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal (10x3)

Fanmio/DAZN/UFC Fight Pass PPV Main Card (9 p.m. ET):

175 lbs.: Anthony Pettis vs. Chris Avila (6x3)
135 lbs.: Sean Garcia vs. Amado Vargas (8x3)
135 lbs.: Devin Cushing vs. Manny Correa (8x3)
168 lbs.: Daniel Jacobs vs. Shane Mosley Jr. (10x3)
135 lbs.: Curmel Moton vs. Nikolai Buzolin (8x3)

Fanmio/DAZN YouTube Prelims Card (7:30 p.m. ET):

147 lbs.: Alan Sanchez vs. Louie Lopez (8x3)
168 lbs.: Kenny Lopez Jr. vs. Andres Martinez (6x3)
147 lbs.: Jose Aguayo vs. Bryce Logan (4x3)
Heavyweight: Steven Dunn vs. Gabriel Aguilar Costa
140 lbs.: Luciano Ramos vs. Dan Hernandez (4x3)

The cost of the PPV stream is $49.99 (down considerably from its original price of $79.99).

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