"I don't want to see him tarnish his legacy" - Jorge Masvidal gives his take on Nick Diaz's performance against Robbie Lawler at UFC 266
Echoing the thoughts of the MMA community, Jorge Masvidal has said Nick Diaz's performance against Robbie Lawler didn't do justice to his character. After returning to the octagon after more than six years, Masvidal suggested the 38-year-old didn't look his usual self.
Diaz locked horns with Lawler in a five-round bout at UFC 266. In the third frame, he shockingly failed to answer the referee's call after sustaining a great deal of damage from Lawler. 'Ruthless' was thus awarded a TKO victory.
In a recent interview with MMA Uncensored, Jorge Masvidal gave his thoughts on Diaz's performance at UFC 266.
"I've watched Nick fight a ton. I like Nick Diaz as an athlete, as a fighter... I don't know where he's coming from. I don't know if he needed the money, because like (Dean Toole) said, it didn't look like he wanted to be that way. It didn't look like he wanted to be there in fights. So maybe he's coming from a different place that I don't understand when you got to get a paycheck. God bless him. But as far as Nick Diaz that we're used to seeing is concerned, he's not the same guy."
Masvidal acknowledged that Diaz had already cemented a legacy of his own while performing at his peak. However, he doesn't want the Stockton native to follow the route of other MMA legends who ended up tarnishing it by not bidding farewell to the sport at the right time.
"Obviously, I would want to see him come back 100 percent healthy, 100 percent in shape, ready to do that for three rounds or five rounds, whatever the contract dictates... I would just like to see him back in there but with a full tank of gas. If not, I don't want to see him tarnish his legacy because he does have a great legacy."
Watch Jorge Masvidal's full interview with MMA Uncensored below:
Jorge Masvidal was open to the idea of fighting Nick Diaz
Ahead of Nick Diaz's UFC return, Jorge Masvidal said he wouldn't mind fighting the older Diaz brother if he were to beat Robbie Lawler at UFC 266. 'Gamebred' stated it would be a "blessing" to be offered an opportunity to share the octagon with someone like Nick Diaz.
However, since Diaz came up short against Lawler, a potential fight between the fan favorite and Masvidal seems unlikely.
Jorge Masvidal says a fight with Nick Diaz would be a "blessing" 🙏
(via @marc_raimondi) https://t.co/Lar8TgWm5q