UFC president Dana White officially confirmed on Saturday that the upcoming UFC 244 pay-per-view at Madison Square Garden would be headlined by a fight between Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was so excited about the fight’s announcement that he took to Instagram to let both fighters know he’d do everything in his power to be at the arena that night.
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“I will do all I can to be there for this one, brother,” Johnson wrote. “F—. Yes.”
“.@TheRock I’m telling @danawhite i want you to put it around my waist 305 all day,” Masvidal responded via Twitter on Sunday.
Doing all I can to make this fight. If I can and you win, I’ll put the belt around your waist at MSG – consider it done. Already shaping up to be one of the biggest and most electrifying fights in @ufc history. Can’t wait. @GamebredFighter @NateDiaz209 #respect #BMF #UFC244 ⚡️ https://t.co/nVTIeBtkgv
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) September 9, 2019
The fight between the two won’t be for any UFC Championship. Rather it will be for a special one-and-done BMF Championship.
“No it’s a one and done.Whoever wins the fight wins the belt and claims the title of ‘BMF’,” White explained at the post-fight press conference after UFC 242.
Diaz has made a career out of being one of the most outspoken fighters in all of mixed martial arts. His two pay-per-view fights with Conor McGregor in 2016 both broke 1.5 million pay-per-view buys and he’s fresh off a win over Anthony Pettis at UFC 241 in mid-August.
Meanwhile Masvidal has been with UFC since 2013, but his popularity exploded this past summer in the build to his fight with Ben Askren at UFC 239. Masvidal set a record for fastest KO in company history when he knocked out Asken in just five seconds with a flying knee, improving his professional MMA record to 34-13.
UFC 244 will take place on Nov. 2. Other booked fights include Kelvin Gastelum vs. Darren Till, Corey Anderson vs. Johnny Walker and Derrick Lewis vs. Blagoy Ivanov.
