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During the build-up to Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz, Conor McGregor picked his former UFC foe to win the boxing bout. He also showed absolutely no respect for Paul's fighting skills while doing so.
In an interview with Ariel Helwani for Matchroom Boxing in May, McGregor stated:
"[Paul's] a donkey that guy... but a donkey has a kick as well, so you’ve just got to be worried of that. But, Nate will be peppering him, he’ll be in his face and I just think it will be Nate.”
Watch the video below:
Nate Diaz has been a part of two high-stakes bouts against Conor McGregor. At UFC 196 in March 2016, Diaz submitted McGregor with a rear-naked choke, before the Irishman avenged the loss at UFC 202 five months later via majority decision.
When Nate Diaz squared off against Jake Paul at the American Airlines Center on August 5, both fighters went the distance of 10 rounds. Paul won via unanimous decision and now boasts a boxing resume that includes wins over MMA fighters like Anderson Silva, Tyron Woodley, Ben Askren, and Diaz.
Anthony Smith expresses his displeasure over Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz
UFC fighter Anthony Smith recently expressed his disappointment over the boxing bout between Jake Paul and Nate Diaz.
While making his pro-boxing debut earlier this month, Diaz brought considerable hype to the squared circle, and many prominent names in the MMA world rooted for him. In the end, the Stockton native came up short.
Smith was not impressed by either of the two fighters and expressed his thoughts on the bout on the Believe You Me podcast:
"I’m not super impressed with either one of them if I’m being honest. I don’t think either one of them did a very good job. If you’ve got a guy that’s pointing at the crowd and not engaging in a fight and turning his back to you and you don’t knock that guy out, he’s kind of punking you while you’re beating him. It’s not super impressive from either guy."
Watch the video below (7:30):
