Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty ImagesThis whole thing reminds me a lot of the time Oscar De La Hoya promoted a trilogy fight between fading MMA legends Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz—not just because the two fighters involved are clearly way past their primes, but because the promoters seem to be grossly overestimating how much people actually want to see these guys compete.
The truth is that, in 2024, fight fans really aren’t that interested in Masvidal or Diaz anymore.
At the height of his career, Masvidal was both a serious welterweight contender and a solid pay-per-view draw, but those days are clearly over, as he has lost four straight fights to Kamaru Usman (twice), Colby Covington and Gilbert Burns.
The same can be said of Diaz. He once challenged Benson Henderson for the UFC lightweight title and anchored a handful of massive pay-per-views opposite Conor McGregor and Masvidal, but he’s been little more than a punching bag for the last few years of his career—first in the UFC, then in the boxing ring against Jake Paul, which was a far more damning appraisal of his ability than any of his Octagon losses.
Both fighters are obviously husks of their former selves, which makes this boxing match a hard sell. The promoters were clearly hoping that their shared penchant for trash talk and press conference brawls would drum up interest, but it’s doubtful even that will be enough, as both guys are almost 40, which makes all their pre-fight bravado feel immature and actually a bit sad.
But I digress. You’re here for a prediction, not my complaining.
Arguably the worst thing about this Masvidal vs. Diaz rematch is that it seems utterly pointless. Masvidal beat the brakes off the Californian the first time they fought. It wasn’t close at all. Sure, Diaz probably could have continued despite the gargantuan cut that Masvidal opened on his face, but he was losing decisively by that point, and he was not going to turn things around, contrary to all of the myth-making about his prowess in the championship rounds.
Things won’t be any different in this rematch. Masvidal is a better boxer. He hits much harder. He has a good chin—certainly good enough to withstand Diaz’s offense, which has never been particularly potent. Unless this ends up looking like Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen’s recent exhibition bout in Brazil, which was a glorified sparring match, it follows the plot of Masvidal vs. Diaz 1.
Masvidal lands more, lands harder, and probably finishes Diaz, and most of us will be wondering why it needed to happen at all.
Source : Bleacher Report