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Combat sports fans have weighed in on Jake Paul opening as the betting favorite to beat Nate Diaz in a potential fight. Over the past several months, there's been widespread speculation that Diaz could cross over to the sport of boxing and compete against YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul.
Nate Diaz, an MMA legend and UFC icon, is coming off a fourth-round submission win over Tony Ferguson in a welterweight (170-pound) MMA bout at UFC 279 on September 10. Diaz later expressed his desire to box and parted ways with the UFC, albeit reassuring that he'll return to the promotion someday.
Meanwhile, Jake Paul is fresh off an impressive performance against MMA great and former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. The Paul-Silva matchup was a catchweight (187-pound) professional boxing bout that transpired on October 29. It witnessed Paul beat Silva via unanimous decision.
As reported by Chamatkar Sandhu via @betonline_ag, Jake Paul has started as a -260 (5/13) favorite over Nate Diaz who's a +200 (2/1) underdog in their possible boxing matchup.
Some fans seemingly agreed with the odds, suggesting that the 37-year-old Diaz might be past his athletic prime and would lose to the 25-year-old Paul inside the squared circle. Harking back to Diaz's performance in his grueling showdown against Tony Ferguson, one fan wrote:
"Yeah Nate looked like a 70-year-old man in his last fight lmao."
Meanwhile, another fan insinuated that Diaz lacks punching power and would lose to the heavier Paul:
"Nate has no power and he’s a natural 170 pounder… Free money"
Alternatively, one Twitter user seemed astonished to see the Stockton native open as the underdog against Paul:
"Bruh what"
Another Twitter user opined that Diaz could be the one to end Paul's unbeaten boxing run:
"Jake loses this one. Finally, he bit off too much."
Several fans highlighted that Paul continues to fight MMA fighters with little-to-no boxing experience rather than full-time boxers. One fan tweeted:
"Jake Paul fighting 0 Boxers name a more iconic duo."
Nate Diaz's backstage altercations at the Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva event
During Saturday's boxing event headlined by Jake Paul and Anderson Silva, Nate Diaz reportedly got into multiple backstage altercations with members of Paul's team. A video posted by the @FullCombat_ Twitter handle shows Diaz landing his signature Stockton slap on one of Paul's teammates.
Moreover, a video tweeted by the @Cagesidepress handle purportedly featured Diaz's team and Jake Paul's team attacking each other by hurling projectiles. During his post-fight interview inside the ring, Paul called out Diaz to face him in his next boxing match. While it's believed that the Paul-Diaz fight could materialize soon, it's yet to be officially confirmed.
