Nate Diaz has reacted to the rise of YouTube boxing star Jake Paul and his relentless pursuit of MMA fighters over the past few months.
Paul transitioned to professional boxing in 2020 and enjoyed some success against extremely low-level opposition. Most notably, the 24-year-old knocked out former NBA player Nate Robinson on the undercard of Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr.
Since then, Paul has been trying to secure a fight with SBG teammates Conor McGregor and Dillon Danis. He even suggested a fight with Diaz was on the table after signing on to fight former Bellator and ONE Championship titleholder Ben Askren on April 17.
Diaz told ESPN that he is open to fighting Paul down the line
“No, not at that moment, no. But, at some point for sure,” Diaz said.
The UFC fan favourite hasn’t enjoyed seeing Paul’s pursuit of “real” fighters.
“He was just talking some serious fighting words to Conor,” Diaz said. “When I said something it was because he was saying stuff to Conor and those are some real fighting words for a guy who is signed to fight in a real fight. You are challenging us to a boxing match with real fighting words. No one is going to speak, even Conor doesn’t want to give him any clout.
“Someone needs to tell this guy to shut up, I wasn’t trying to have anybody’s back. But, you are talking fighting words, it doesn’t make no sense when people do that,” Diaz added. “It is like people talking like that and challenging somebody to a basketball (game). Boxing is just boxing it is only one-piece of a fight. So, someone is going to f**k you up if you don’t watch it.” (Transcribed by BJPENN.com)
Do you think Nate Diaz will actually fight Jake Paul?