Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping believes loss to Jake Paul was a 'wake up call' for Nate Diaz and it showed against Jorge Masvidal.
Nate Diaz improved his professional boxing record to 1-1 on Saturday with a majority decision win over Jorge Masvidal. The two had previously fought in the UFC with Masvidal winning via doctor stoppage due to a cut. The two fought for the inaugural "BMF" belt at UFC 244 in November 2019. The stoppage didn't sit well with Diaz. And on Saturday, the decision did no sit well with Masvidal.
Masvidal's boxing record now stands at 1-1. He made his professional boxing debut in 2005 picking up a majority decision win over Joseph Benjamin. Diaz made his boxing debut last August, losing to Jake Paul via unanimous decision. Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping believes the loss to Paul was 'a wake up call' for Diaz and it showed in his performance against Masvidal.
"This was a different Nate Diaz," Bisping said on his YouTube channel. "When you look at Nate Diaz and the way that he performed against Jake Paul, I thought it was going to be a bad night for Nate Diaz. But I was wrong. He came in motivated, in shape, and super aggressive from the very get-go."
"I think Masvidal landed the cleaner shots, the more powerful shots, but Nate Diaz was in his face the whole time," Bisping continued. "However, because of the output, because of the non-stop throwing, and the aggression shown by Diaz, it certainly looked to me without seeing the compustats that Diaz was probably just ahead in a very, very , close fight."
Masvidal felt like he was robbed by the judges and called for a third match against Diaz. With the win, Diaz has options, and Bisping believes he's 'still a force.'
"I thought he had kind of dropped off against Jake Paul because it was a little bit embarrassing," Bisping said. "It showed Nate Diaz is still a force. He's still got to be respected, and he's a man that now has a lot of options."
"The Diaz that showed up against Jake Paul was not the Diaz that showed up for Jorge Masvidal. It just wasn't the same guy," continued Bisping. "I think that (the loss to Paul) taught Diaz a lesson. I think that was a wake up call."
