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Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff Writer
A former UFC champion will compete on the Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal boxing undercard later this year.
Anthony Pettis, once the UFC lightweight titleholder, will take on Diaz protégé Chris Avila at the event June 1 at The Forum in Inglewood, California, officials told ESPN. The bout is contracted for six rounds at 175 pounds.
Pettis, 37, made his pro boxing debut in April 2023, a majority decision victory over boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. The Milwaukee native is coming off a unanimous decision win over fellow former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson at Karate Combat in December 2023. Pettis, who last fought in MMA for PFL in 2022, held the UFC lightweight belt from 2013 to 2015.
Avila, 31, is 5-1 as a pro boxer and has had success in the influencer space of the genre. The Stockton, California, native owns boxing wins over MMA fighters Jeremy Stephens and Anthony Taylor, as well as influencers Paul Bamba and Mikhail “Dr. Mike” Varshavski. Avila is a longtime training partner of Diaz’s out of Nick Diaz Academy.
Diaz and Masvidal fought for the UFC’s symbolic BMF in 2019 at New York’s Madison Square Garden, with Masvidal winning via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) due to a Diaz cut. The two have harbored bad blood since before that bout.