J. Masvidal (left) faces N. Diaz (right) for symbolic title in UFC 244. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @ufc
The Ultimate board decided to deviate from the standards. After ruling out the title fight between Kamaru Usman e Colby covington in the main fight of UFC 244, as it was unable to reach an agreement with the athletes, the company decided to escalate Nate diaz e Jorge masvidal as main stars of the event, which takes place in New York on November 2nd. As these are two current big names in mixed martial arts, the company then decided to create a symbolic belt for 'Toughest Son of a Mother in the Game' and reward the winner of the fight. The information was disclosed by White in an interview with 'MMA Fighting'.
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“This fight is one of those that ended up taking on a life of its own. Nate (Diaz) said in an interview after crashing Anthony Pettis (UFC 241) that this is a fight to see who is the 'Toughest Son of a Bit in the Game'. He said, 'That's what this duel is worth.' So I said, 'Then, okay. I’m in,” said Dana.
It must be made clear that Jorge and Nate, even though they are part of the current elite in the welterweight category (up to 77kg), will not step into the octagon to fight for an interim belt in the division, or anything like that. What is in dispute is a symbolic title created by the fighters themselves to promote the fight.
Furthermore, according to the representative, the belt created will not be defended by the winner later. It will be awarded exclusively for the November event.
“No (it will be defended). It will happen once and it's over. Whoever wins, wins the belt and can celebrate the title”, confirmed the 'boss'.
The board tried in every way to ensure that the New York event would be headlined by Covington and Usman. However, the negotiation came up against the values offered to the athletes. It is not known for certain whether the denial was on the part of the Nigerian or the North American.
Nate diaz returned to Ultimate after three years away from MMA. The athlete impressed by dominating the former lightweight champion, Anthony Pettis, in the co-main fight of UFC 241. At the time, the athlete silenced his critics and proved that the time away did not influence his combat rhythm.
Masvidal is on a rise even greater than that of his next rival. The North American, who was responsible for scoring the fastest knockout in the history of Ultimate (5 seconds) by eliminating Ben Askren in a duel valid for the UFC 239, comes from two consecutive victories and is currently in third place in the welterweight rankings.
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