With the UFC firmly in Nate Diaz’s rear view mirror, he’s a free agent looking to explore some options. Diaz, in a recent interview with iD Boxing, described a potentially lucrative boxing match with YouTuber Jake Paul as something he’ll consider “for sure”.
“[Jake Paul] is for sure one of the options. He’s doing big stuff. He’s doing big things. He’s got a big fight ahead of him. If he wins that, I’m sure people will be really impressed by it. And if Anderson [Silva] does his thing on him, that’s impressive also. Now we’ve got a fight on his hands. I’m looking forward to it. [Paul vs. Silva is] 50-50. I don’t know. We’ll see what happens.”
Jake Paul Boxing Match is “For Sure” An Option for Nate Diaz
Diaz’s last fight in the UFC, against Tony Ferguson, ended in a submission victory for Stockton’s favorite son. Although Nate Diaz was always best known for his durability and formidable grappling – most notably handing Conor McGregor his first UFC defeat with a rear naked choke – he recounted spending his early days as a fighter among some serious boxers.
“From 17 or 18 years old, I was starting to fight, I was boxing with my boxing coach. There were boxers all over my gym, and I was going to box initially, but MMA shows were more around my area, and they were happening, so I got stuck in MMA. I got stuck in a cage this whole time with contracts and stuff.
Now everything is open for the taking. I never stopped training for a boxing fight since I started fighting. When the right opponent or right thing comes, we’re going to take it.”
Diaz, in a later interview with Boxing Social, predicted his boxing future in true Diaz form: he’ll fight anybody. “The best boxers that they can come up with me to fight, I’ll fight anybody.
I think they’re going to play me down like I’m not a boxer, but if they do, they’re scared anyway. I don’t give a f***. I don’t care if I was in the cage or not, I was stuck in the cage. I would’ve been boxing the whole time.
And if I wasn’t getting kicked on the leg, my boxing would look a lot more crisp anyway. So whatever people think they saw about me, they don’t even have a clue about.”
Are you looking forward to the boxing chapter of Nate Diaz’s long career? Let us know in the comments.
