One man who won’t be complaining about the controversial scorecards between Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal is Conor McGregor.
The Irishman, who has had feuds with both men during his iconic UFC run, wagered a whopping $500,000 on his two-time foe Diaz. And his sponsor company returned him a ridiculous profit given his underdog status.
Masvidal appeared to land the much cleaner punches during the ten-round affair in California, but could only muster a draw on one judges’ scorecard as he slumped to defeat. One judge even had it as wide as eight rounds to two, with Diaz landing a first win since 2022.
Conor McGregor earns massive profit as he backs Nate Diaz to beat Jorge Masvidal
The legendary rivalry between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz gave fight fans two iconic bouts in 2016, with a trilogy seemingly forever on the horizon. There is a grudging respect between the two, and it is rare that the Irishman would ever bet against his old foe in a fight.
And on Saturday night he put his money where his mouth is, telling fans on social media: “I’ve decided to put $500,000 on Diaz to win tonight’s boxing match. Range, form, experience, solely hands being used, I can’t see Jorge Masvidal causing any problems to Nate in a boxing ring whatsoever.”
However, he couldn’t resist a little dig at the California native, adding: “They are both little play around dips***s in a fight, play around b*****, but I feel Nate does him in EASY here for real. $500k gets me back $1,625,000 all in.”
After learning of his substantial victory, McGregor took to social media to send a supportive message to Diaz. “THE RICH GET RICHER!!!” he posted. “Well done Nate, congrats!” In a later set of tweets, he called the victory “Yacht fuel,” and told Diaz “Nice! Thanks.”
Nate Diaz wants rematches with Leon Edwards and Jake Paul after Jorge Masvidal win
Over the ten rounds, Masvidal appeared to be clearly picking up the points as he landed much bigger shots and damage to his rival. The pair had been forced to stop their initial meeting at UFC 244 due to a cut, but were able to finish out their feud in the boxing ring which appeared to favour the Florida man.
However, when it got to the scorecards many were surprised to learn that Diaz had been declared the winner, with only one judge giving so much as a draw for Masvidal. In the immediate aftermath, the former lightweight title contender called his shot for his next few fights including two big rematches.
First, Diaz wants to get even with YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, who handed him his first pro boxing defeat last summer. And then he is coming for the welterweight world title in the UFC against Leon Edwards after losing a clear decision to the Brit back in 2021.
“I’m going to beat Jake Paul’s f***ing a**,” Diaz said in an explosive post-fight interview as he celebrated his first victory since September of 2022. “And I’m down to fight the highest ranked boxer I can find, I don’t know who the f*** he is.
“My main objective has always been to be the best fighter in the world so I’m going to go back to get a UFC title. Leon Edwards, Jake Paul, anybody else, you’re dead.”