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With Nate Diaz now officially a free agent, MMA fans across the world are wondering what might be next for him. One option could be a boxing match with YouTube sensation Jake Paul.
Nate Diaz and Jake Paul have already teased a clash between them on numerous occasions, so should this fight finally be put together? Sure, it won’t vault Diaz back to the top of the MMA world, win or lose, but a bout with ‘The Problem Child’ makes plenty of sense.
Here are five reasons why Nate Diaz vs. Jake Paul is the fight to make.
#5. Nate Diaz vs. Jake Paul has a ready-made storyline to sell the fight
Many of the greatest and most famous rivalries in both boxing and MMA history started organically, with two fighters having issues long before they were matched up.
That’s the case when it comes to Nate Diaz and Jake Paul, who’ve been sniping at each other for some time, usually on social media. Their beef went all the way back to 2021, when Diaz took to Twitter to hit out at ‘The Problem Child’ following his knockout win over Ben Askren.
After taking a shot at Askren by labeling him a “retired wrestler who can’t fight or box,” he then claimed Paul would “get smoked in a real fight,” suggesting that his clashes with the likes of Tyron Woodley and Askren didn’t really count.
More recently, Diaz accused Anderson Silva of “being on the payroll” after he lost to Paul in the boxing ring. This prompted ‘The Problem Child’ to label the Stockton favorite a “street gangster.”
Given that the two men also clashed backstage after Paul’s win over Silva – with Diaz reportedly confronting members of Paul’s entourage – there’s essentially a ready-made storyline to sell their fight with.
With so many barbs already thrown at each other, the only thing that makes sense next is for Diaz and Paul to meet in the ring and settle the score.
#4. The fight makes sense for Jake Paul as he has a number of advantages
The biggest criticism of Jake Paul’s boxing career thus far is the fact that the YouTuber appears to have hand-picked opponents whom he holds some kind of advantage over, even if they have far more combat experience than him.
It came as no surprise to see ‘The Problem Child’ knock out Ben Askren. 'Funky' was never renowned for his striking when he was fighting in MMA and looked painfully out of shape in their clash.
Tyron Woodley and Anderson Silva, who also lost to Paul, were obviously far more respected by fans. However, Woodley was on a major slide leading into his two fights with the YouTuber. Silva, who turned 47 last April, should’ve retired years ago.
Would Nate Diaz fit into that pattern, then? It’s definitely arguable and that’s why this fight makes sense for ‘The Problem Child’.
Firstly, Diaz is naturally far smaller than Paul, who fights at cruiserweight (usually weighing in around 190lbs). By contrast, the heaviest Diaz has ever fought at is 170lbs, and he isn’t exactly big at that weight.
Secondly, at the age of 37, Diaz is also past his prime. He’s also taken a ridiculous amount of damage over the years, meaning he’s nowhere near as durable as he once was.
Sure, he’s probably a better boxer from a technical standpoint than any of Paul’s other opponents. As a smaller, aging MMA fighter, though, he still fits the bill as a very beatable opponent for ‘The Problem Child’. That means he’s also likely to be an attractive opponent, too.
#3. The fight also makes sense for Nate Diaz, who also has ways to win
Jake Paul might view Nate Diaz, a smaller and older MMA fighter who has decades of damage under his belt, as the perfect opponent right now. However, there are definitely reasons why Diaz might view Paul as beatable, too.
Firstly, while ‘The Problem Child’ does have six wins as a professional boxer, all of his opponents could be questioned. It’s arguable that he hasn’t been that impressive in some of his victories, either.
More to the point, at times, his technique doesn’t appear to be perfect. In his longer bouts against Tyron Woodley and Anderson Silva, he also got very tired as they reached the later rounds.
Essentially, Paul is still a neophyte in the world of boxing. Were it not for his YouTube fame, he clearly wouldn’t be garnering the attention that he is doing.
Diaz, on the other hand, has never boxed professionally, but he has been renowned for years as one of the sharper boxers in the UFC. His volume-heavy, combination-based game allowed him to beat excellent strikers such as Conor McGregor, Anthony Pettis and Michael Johnson, as well as almost upsetting Leon Edwards.
More importantly, his gas tank is fantastic, and even at the age of 37, it’d be a massive surprise to see him tire out during a fight.
While he’d definitely be giving up some size and power to Paul in this prospective fight, he’d almost certainly have the edge in both technique and cardio. This would give him a great chance of being able to beat ‘The Problem Child’ due to his volume in the later rounds.
Paul obviously wouldn’t be Diaz’s biggest win, but in terms of name value, it wouldn’t get much better right now. This definitely gives the Stockton-based fighter reason to take the bout.
#2. Nate Diaz vs. Jake Paul could set up two more potential fights in the future
In terms of their personalities, Jake Paul and Nate Diaz couldn’t be much further apart, but they do have one thing in common: they both have arguably more famous older brothers in Logan Paul and Nick Diaz, respectively.
Like ‘The Problem Child’, Logan Paul made his name as a YouTuber, but has since branched out into both boxing and pro-wrestling, where he currently performs with WWE. Nick Diaz, of course, has been with the UFC since 2013, and has been part of some huge fights with the likes of Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre.
How is this relevant to a potential fight between Paul and Diaz? Well, given the fiery personalities of their siblings, there’s every chance that the bout could set up future fights between Logan and Nate, and Jake and Nick.
From this perspective, the result of the first Paul vs. Diaz clash would basically be irrelevant. The story of the vengeful older brother coming after the victor would be an easy sell regardless.
Given the huge fame of both sets of brothers, any fight involving a combination of them – even a tag-team match, if they were to head into pro-wrestling – would be a major drawing card, making the initial fight make even more sense.
#1. Nate Diaz vs. Jake Paul could do big numbers on pay-per-view
Naturally, the biggest reason to make a fight between Jake Paul and Nate Diaz is the fact that it’d probably draw a huge number on pay-per-view. This, of course, would make both men plenty of money in the process.
Thus far into his brief boxing career, Paul has proven to be a strong drawing card to an extent, although it would appear that the novelty around seeing the YouTuber fight has recently begun to wane.
His fight with Ben Askren in 2021 managed to pop over a million buys on pay-per-view, but his more recent fights have been markedly less popular. His most recent clash with Anderson Silva, for instance, reportedly only drew 300,000 buys.
However, it’s clear that against the right opponent, people will definitely pay to see ‘The Problem Child’ in action. Could Diaz be that opponent?
It’s definitely possible. Diaz has been renowned as one of the UFC’s top drawing cards for years now, drawing two monstrous buyrates in 2016 for his fights with Conor McGregor.
While he hasn’t reached those levels since, his 2019 fight with Jorge Masvidal was one of the biggest of 2019. His clash with Leon Edwards also added plenty of intrigue to UFC 263 in 2021.
More importantly, UFC 279 – which saw Diaz headline against Tony Ferguson – was easily one of the most talked-about events of 2022.
Add in the existing rivalry between the TUF 5 winner and YouTube sensation Paul, and it seems likely that a bout between them would quickly become a huge deal. Could it draw over a million buys on pay-per-view? It’s definitely possible, and that would make the whole thing more than worthwhile.
