UFC 244 Post-Mortem: Cut from a Violent Cloth

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC on ESPN+ live on your computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday drew 20,143 fans to Madison Square Garden in New York, as it set out to identify the baddest motherf----- in the sport when Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz battled in the UFC 244 main event.

Stars like Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson, Roberto Duran and Michael Rapaport were among those in attendance, as they witnessed “Gamebred” achieve victory when the cageside physician stopped the fight between the third and fourth rounds after examining a deep cut over Diaz’s right eye. The most notable person in the crowd was President Trump, who took his seat just before the main card kicked off. Trump did not just make history by being in the building for the event; he actually sent Masvidal a message on social media after the fight. “Great fight champ,” the President tweeted.

While Trump appeared to enjoy the main event, many fans were upset with what they viewed as a controversial stoppage. Some argued that Diaz and his legendary gas tank would have had a strong chance to stage a comeback in the championship rounds.

“Cuts that big are always a problem,” UFC President Dana White told ESPN afterward. “When it first got stopped, I was like, ‘Come on, man. You guys didn’t stop the Tyson Fury fight.’ It wasn’t these guys -- it was a different commission -- but I was saying that fight wasn’t stopped for cuts. Then as I just went back and talked to Nate Diaz and looked at Nate Diaz’s face, his eyebrow is literally flipping over, and he has another cut right underneath it. The fight probably should have been stopped.”

While White sided with the physician, the two competitors did not seem satisfied with how the fight went down.

“[Diaz] gave me the love. I will give it right back,” Masvidal said during his post-fight interview inside the Octagon. “If the UFC will let it happen, let’s run it right back. I don’t like to leave the ring like this with my opponent conscious. There is only one way to do it, [and] that’s to baptize him. I didn’t get to baptize Nate. We are going to run it back.”

The loss dropped Diaz to 20-12, but it does not sound like “The Ultimate Fighter 5” winner will focus on anybody but the American Top Team standout who just defeated him.

“He got the job done like he was supposed to,” Diaz said in his post-fight interview. “Right on to Jorge for what he did, but I am coming back for your ass motherf-----.”

While both of the competitors gave the impression that they wanted an immediate rematch, White was not on the same wavelength.

“No, it doesn’t interest me right away,” White said.

With the win, Masvidal could get a shot at the Kamaru Usman-Colby Covington winner after they square off for the undisputed welterweight championship in UFC 245 headliner in December.

“Are we going to fight when that championship of sissies [is] done and the dust settles?” Masvidal asked during the post-fight press conference. “If one of these guys makes it to the fight because they keep pulling out against each other, I will be there when the dust settles. I don’t know when or not, but it is on my terms now.”

Another possible opponent about whom Masvidal was asked was former two-division champion Conor McGregor. He scoffed at the idea.

“If he fights and gets a victory and he wants this,” Masvidal said. “Some of you motherf------ are mean. You guys know what I would do to that little dude. I’ll [expletive] that little guy up. He’s a [expletive] midget. Dana White, the president of this motherf------ company said I’m too much man for him. I get it why people want to see him hurt for the stunts he has been pulling, but he doesn’t want this s---. He is just talking to get his name out there. He was cheering for Nate. He wanted to run it back with Nate. You think he is at home seeing that fight and saying, ‘I want to fight that dude?’ That dude ain’t retarded. You see, he punches old people in the face because that is fights he could win. He don’t want this s---.”