Ex-UFC stars Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal meet at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California on July 6. Unlike their inaugural BMF clash, this one’s for boxing. Ahead of this, ‘Gamebred’ is making himself available for media availability and social media rounds. During one such sitdown, Jorge Masvidal went off on a new target. An unlikely one at that — Herb Dean.
The referee has been an industry product and a diligent company man for many years. Dean even was a Spirit MC and Gladiator Challenge martial arts alum before starting officiating UFC fights since UFC 47. During a recent appearance on Julian Edelman’s “Games With Names” Podcast (@gameswithnamespod), even head honcho Dana White praised the referee. However, Masvidal thinks otherwise.
Oh, the eye-poke: a hundred percent [intentional]…And it was a good fu*king eye-poke! I was fu*king seeing double vision…It’s just like, Herb Dean and me have never fu*king got along…And I also think he’s one of the worst referees to have existed. I guess too many mistakes at a high level. Great person….outside of it. But in refereeing — that was a good eye-poke!
Jorge Masvidal via “The George Janko Show” | EP. 71 (@GeorgeJanko)
This is because of Colby ‘Chaos’ Covington and his clash. The 39-year-old received a handful of eye pokes from Covington at the start of their UFC 272 grudge match. Yet the former ATT Wrestler faced no consequences for his fouls and was allowed to clinch right after. Jorge Masvidal says Herb Dean has unfair propaganda and shouldn’t officiate his UFC bouts.
Alluding to the Donald Cerrone and Jake Ellenberger fights, Masvidal said in an interview (MMAFighting on SBN) that Dean just wasn’t his cup of tea. As a result of the unbound fouls, Masvidal also informed back in June 2022 that he’ll undergo laser eye surgery later that month. As he goes on for his boxing crossover stint, he wishes there’s no more ‘Herb Dean’ in his fights.
Video: Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal ‘Last Man Standing’ details resolute gangsters back at it
Nate Diaz and Masvidal lock horns in a boxing match on July 6 in a Fanmio Pay-per-view headliner at Honda Center. It will mark their second go, having met for the first time at UFC 244 in November 2019 for their inaugural BMF title fight. The pioneer gangsters of UFC have unrelenting respect for each other. But when it comes to who the greater gangster is, it’s all man for himself.
Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal 10-round, 175-pound boxing camp video debuts (Source: ringtv.com/Instagram)To that end, Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal’s ‘Last Man Standing,’ Episode 1 released fight camp prepping footage this week. New episodes premiere weekly, Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, up until their fight. Check the first one below:
Diaz, 39, made his crossover boxing debut in August with a unanimous decision loss to Jake Paul. It was his first fight since becoming a free agent in 2022. The first episode sees the Stockton superstar go for extended cardio runs in prepping. The Team Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu standout also demolishes a few heavy bags right after.
Masvidal similarly has a reserve of power. He is out of MMA after a unanimous-decided loss at the hands of Gilbert Burns in April 2023. After tensions boiled over with Nate Diaz refusing yet another press event staredown, the duo recently got into a brawl. Now, the string of tolerance is very low; ‘Gamrebred’ is out to kill, as usual. Who emerges victorious in the rematch inside a squared circle remains to be seen.
