Nate Diaz was considered a Top 5 pay-per-view (PPV) draw in UFC, according to this longtime employee, and will now have a chance to prove his value outside the promotion when he collides with celebrity boxer Jake Paul on Aug. 5 in Dallas, Texas.
Paul claims his Tommy Fury fight was “off the charts” in terms of PPV revenue but could surpass his “TNT” numbers in “The Lone Star State.” The 26 year-old “Problem Child” insists Diaz is a “bigger star” than Fury with a wider reach on social media.
“I think it’s going to surprise everyone,” Paul told MMA Junkie. “This is the most amount of interest we’ve had in terms of ticket sales, live gate. We’re pretty much all sold out. The highest average ticket prices for any of my fights. The first time my opponent had this much traction on social media in terms of the posts he’s making about it. So I think it can exceed expectations. I would be happy with 400,000 or 500,000 (pay-per-view buys). But I’m also coming off of selling 830,000 with Tommy (Fury). So it could be even bigger. Nate Diaz is a bigger star than Tommy Fury. He has more experience in this game. Has sold millions of PPVs throughout his career. So it could shock us all.”
Paul is no stranger to fighting former UFC headliners. The YouTube prankster was previously paired with ex-middleweight champion Anderson Silva in Phoenix, but that PPV “tanked,” according to an “upset” Paul, and sold a measly 200-300k units.
No question a poor showing — either athletically and financially — could derail the celebrity boxing hype train, which to date, has pushed Paul to 6-1 as a boxer with five knockouts. Fortunately for “The Problem Child,” a PFL safety net is waiting in the wings.