‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley had a ringside seat for Saturday’s scrap between Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal—and not even he’s sure who won.
Selling out the Honda Center in Anaheim, the pair of former UFC stars delivered an entertaining 10-round scrap that ultimately saw the ‘Stockton Samurai’ even the series and escape with a majority decision victory. The result sparked a fierce debate among fans and pundits online, many suggesting that while Diaz was the busier fighter, Masvidal landed the more impactful strikes and, as a result, should have won.
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Having taken up commentary duties during the ‘Last Man Standing’ pay-per-view event, O’Malley offered his assessment of the long-awaited rematch during a recent episode of his TimboSugarShow podcast with coach Tim Welch.
“You know what happened? It was a draw,” O’Malley said. “Nate vs. Jorge was a draw. The first fight—doctor’s stoppage. The second fight—draw. We need a trilogy. We need a rubber match. I thought it was a draw and I literally wouldn’t have been mad at that. People probably would have been like, ‘f*ck,’ but I thought it was a draw.
“If they had said Jorge won, I would have been like, yeah. When they said Nate won, I was like f*ck, I could see that perspective too, but again if they said it was a draw. … It was such an evenly-matched fight.”
Sean O’Malley Reveals What Could Come Next For Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal
As for what comes next, O’Malley believes Diaz showed significant improvement compared to his pro boxing debut against Jake Paul last year and believes the Stockton native should get the chance to run it back with ‘The Problem Child.’
“I would love to see Nate vs. Jake run it back,” O’Malley added. “I just don’t know about the weight. It would probably be at the same weight. Jake’s a big fella.”
During his post-fight interview, Diaz called for a rematch with Leon Edwards, the UFC’s reigning welterweight world champion. Diaz previously fought Edwards at UFC 263 and surrendered a unanimous decision to the eventual 185-pound titleholder. However, Diaz famously rocked ‘Rocky’ in the waning moments of the fifth round, leading many to believe that if the fight had gone just a little longer, Diaz would have had his hand raised.
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“Nate vs. Leon, f*ck it—the UFC can make anything happen,” O’Malley continued. “Remember, Nate almost knocked him out in the last 10 seconds or whatever.”
Offering his take on what could be next for ‘Gamebred,’ Sean O’Malley believes a fight between Masvidal and Jake Paul could be a real money-maker, especially if it goes down in the former BMF titleholder’s hometown.
“Jorge Masvidal vs. Jake Paul would be sweet,” O’Malley said. “It’s hard to make that [fight] since he lost to Nate, but it was such a close fight. Jake vs. Jorge in Miami, that would be electric, but whoever it’s going to be [against], it’s gonna be f*cking fire.”
Watch the full episode below:
