Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz both tipped the scales just over 175lb a day before their boxing rematch on Saturday night.
The pair had already fought at welterweight five years prior in the UFC, and came in around 170lb for that occasion. However, by the time they reached fight night this weekend, their weights were a whole different story.
Masvidal managed to move up two entire weight divisions, while Diaz wasn’t too far behind with his fight day weight. Ultimately, the pair looked good over the ten round distance and played out a close bout, which Diaz won by Majority Decision.
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Jorge Masvidal piled on over 28lb in one day ahead of Nate Diaz boxing fight
Former welterweight title contender and BMF champion Jorge Masvidal weighed in 175.2lb, around the light-heavyweight limit for boxing. But by fight night just a day later, he had breezed straight past cruiserweight and into heavyweight territory at 204.1lb.
The massive change constituted a 16 per cent increase in body weight in just around 24 hours. In a number of cases when such a drastic change is noted, it could see the California State Athletic Commission recommend that he change weight classes.
And in fact, with potential matchups on the horizon against Jake Paul or Darren Till, it is likely Masvidal would be asked to move up anyway by promoters. He looked in solid shape on fight night and handily went all 30 minutes, five longer than a world title or main event MMA fight would have been.
Nate Diaz gained over 14lb in one day before Jorge Masvidal showdown
While Nate Diaz didn’t make as drastic a change, there was still a notable difference in his fight day weight for the Masvidal fight. He tipped the scales at 175.6lb at the official weigh-ins, but was up at 190.2lb the following day.
A 14.6lb increase is generally around standard for most UFC fighters and boxers cutting weight, and was half of the increase in body weight of his opponent. Diaz fought Jake Paul at 185lb last year, and looked in considerably better shape this time around.
Diaz was similarly impressive over the ten rounds as he picked up the win with a volume-heavy style as he piled on the pressure. He had gone that distance with Paul, although that time he was dropped and lost by unanimous decision.
Nate Diaz vs Jorge Masvidal fight day weights vs weigh-in weights
On the undercard there were a number of fighters who tacked on over 10 per cent of their body weights including Danny Jacobs and Shane Mosely Jr in one of the featured bouts. Floyd Mayweather’s prospect Curmel Moton was second to Masvidal in percentage gained with 14 for his fight against Nikolai Buzolin.
Remarkably, the opening fight of the night saw Kenneth Lopez face Andres Martinez with a whopping 16.6lb disparity on the day. Lopez ballooned from 175.8lb to 196.3lb, while Martinez only went from 173.2lb to 179.7lb, or a 12 per cent difference in weight vs a 4 per cent difference.
Here is the full list of weights courtesy of MMAFighting:
- Nate Diaz (175.6 to 190.2 pounds = 8 percent) vs. Jorge Masvidal (175.2 to 204.1 pounds = 16 percent)
- Daniel Jacobs (169.2 to 188.7 pounds = 12 percent) vs. Shane Mosley Jr. (167.6 to 187.5 pounds = 12 percent)
- Chris Avila (175.6 to 186.5 pounds = 6 percent) vs. Anthony Pettis (175.3 to 184 pounds = 5 percent)
- Curmel Moton (133.5 to 152.7 pounds = 14 percent) vs. Nikolai Buzolin (137.7 to 148.4 pounds = 8 percent)
- Arnado Vargas (134.1 to 143.2 pounds = 7 percent) vs. Sean Garcia (138.1 to 147.1 pounds = 7 percent)
- Devin Cushing (131.9 to 143.6 pounds = 9 percent) vs. Manuel Correa (131.2 to 144.7 pounds = 10 percent)
- Alan Sanchez (146.3 to 161.2 pounds = 10 percent) vs. Dan Hernandez (140 to 154.5 pounds = 10 percent)
- Steve Dunn (213.5 to 213.5 pounds = 0 percent) vs. Gabriel Costa (206.1 to 210.1 pounds = 2 percent)
- Jose Aguayo (149.9 to 166.3 pounds = 11 percent) vs. Bryce Logan (149.7 to 165.8 pounds = 11 percent)
- Kenneth Lopez (175.8 to 196.3 pounds = 12 percent) vs. Andres Martinez (173.2 to 179.7 pounds = 4 percent)