“We’re talking to Diaz’s team. He wants to do it as well. He has two more fights with the UFC apparently. So we’ll see what happens”.
Step aside Conor McGregor and Dillon Danis, because Jake Paul has his sights set on a boxing match with Nate Diaz.
The YouTube star revealed that he’s in talks with Diaz’ team and that Nate is interested in the matchup after he completes his UFC contract.
“We’re talking to Diaz’s team. He wants to do it as well,” Paul, who is set to fight former Bellator welterweight champ Ben Askren on April 17, told Heavy.com in a recent interview. “He has two more fights with the UFC apparently. So we’ll see what happens. If he frees up from the UFC, that’s the fight.”
Paul — younger brother of YouTube giant Logan Paul — thinks he will put on a boxing clinic against Diaz despite the latter’s extensive experience in combat sports. Diaz, winner of The Ultimate Fighter 5, has never fought in professional boxing but the Californian is widely considered one of the best boxers in MMA.
“Diaz started talking s*** to me. Bro, Diaz is a punching bag,” Paul said. “The guy just goes into fights and walks forward,”
“They’re different sports,” Paul continued. “He’s tough, but a lot of guys are tough. So the Diaz fight makes sense, and he’ll get tatted up.”
Although Paul is currently in talks with Diaz, the 24-year-old will not be overlooking Askren on April 17.
“I would love to fight Nate Diaz after Askren,” he said. “But we’re not overlooking Ben Askren.”
Paul is 2-0 as a professional boxer and most recently fought on the undercard of Triller’s Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. event in November 2020 when he KO’d ex-NBA player Nate Robinson in the second round.