When Dana White and his team put UFC 244 together — bringing in the celebrities, the new belt, and two of the sport’s most popular fighters today — a crowd chanting “bulls**t” in unison was probably quite low on the list of possible endings to the night.
But to the dismay of the fans, the commentators, the referee, The Rock, the UFC President, and the fighters, that was the case.
Jorge Masvidal defeated Nate Diaz via TKO following a doctor’s stoppage before the fourth round, declaring him the first holder of the “BMF title” in a way that he didn’t feel was very BMF-worthy.
“I don’t like to leave the ring like this with my opponent conscious,” Masvidal told Joe Rogan through the jeers from the crowd in his post-fight interview.
And while the crowd remained restless after the result, Masvidal tried his hand at making it up to them.
“We’re gonna run it back, New York,” Masvidal said. “We gave you three good rounds. Don’t be booing me.”
The crowd still wasn’t having it, but Masvidal spoke the truth in that moment. Masvidal and Diaz did, in fact, turn in three good rounds.
Between these two MMA lifers, there weren’t any signs of bad blood. The respect was evident in the leadup to the bout, and they showed it with a touch of gloves to get the fight underway.
Masvidal came out right away with a fake of the flying knee that put Ben Askren’s lights out in a UFC-record five seconds.
HE REALLY FAKED THE FLYING KNEE 🤣 #UFC244 pic.twitter.com/8z6I71QSnQ
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) November 3, 2019
The two fighters clinched, and Masvidal’s elbows did a number on Diaz.
Diaz was rocked, dropped and cut open — the blood being a common sight in a Diaz fight. Diaz remained on his back while Masvidal picked his shots while standing above him, not fully committing to engaging in Diaz’s guard. Eventually, Masvidal let Diaz back to his feet.
😱 @GamebredFighter drops Diaz in the first round #UFC244 pic.twitter.com/UiGdyT08bm
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) November 3, 2019
Diaz was not without his own moment though. He came forward and landed shots while pinning Masvidal in one of the corners of the Octagon. Masvidal clinched, smiled to acknowledge that he felt it, and the two kept scrapping until the round came to a close.
Diaz tags Masvidal and then Masvidal blows a kiss to the crowd. Unreal! #UFC244 pic.twitter.com/mKp0b5lLJd
— UFC (@ufc) November 3, 2019
The cutman had his work cut out for him with Diaz after round one. He had multiple cuts surrounding his right eye from the elbows of Masvidal, and while the Vaseline filled them briefly, blood dripped down his cheek at the start of round two.
Masvidal rocked Diaz for a second time with a right hand that sent him staggering backward. This time, Masvidal didn’t engage on the ground at all, letting Diaz up off of his back in an attempt to continue using his tools on the feet.
Masvidal drops Diaz again! #UFC244 pic.twitter.com/ecsLhbXpdU
— UFC (@ufc) November 3, 2019
Diaz appeared to get hurt once again with just under two minutes left in the round. Multiple body shots saw him lean over, hands on his knees.
Masvidal read the situation for a moment and then chose to pursue, eventually slamming Diaz to the mat with a takedown.
Entering Diaz’s world with seconds ticking off of the clock, Masvidal fought off brief submission attempts from his opponent before the horn sounded.
Diaz started the third round by taking the center of the Octagon, but Masvidal soon backed him off with his strikes. Masvidal continued to vary his targets, adding body shots in an attempt to slow Diaz down again.
The round once again ended with each fighter doing work on the ground. Masvidal controlled position on the top and rained down ground and pound, but the always-active Diaz answered with strikes and his trademark Stockton Slap from the bottom.
Doctors then took a look at Diaz’s eye. Diaz said that he was able to continue, but the doctor had his own perception of the situation and advised referee Dan Miragliotta to wave the fight off before the fourth round could begin.
Diaz aired his grievances after the fight, revealing to Rogan that he suffered an injury in training that made it difficult to run, which impacted his endurance training.
“I had a little bit of issues so I couldn’t run as much as I usually do, so I was like, I’m not gonna really push until round four, so my gameplan was starting to kick in,” Diaz said.
He followed it up with praise for Masvidal.
“He got the job done like he was supposed to, so right on to Jorge for what he did,” Diaz said.
But before he could go, he had to give one last parting shot.
“I’m coming back for your ass, motherf**ker.”