Jake Paul sees a clash with UFC star Nate Diaz as a real possibility.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer believes there’s a chance he could share the boxing ring with Diaz in the near future. Diaz, who is one of the most popular fighters in MMA, has just one fight left on his UFC contract before becoming a free agent.
Paul hopes Diaz doesn’t re-sign with the UFC, so it could set up a boxing match between the two.
“I’m hoping because none of these (other) guys want to fight me,” Paul said Monday on “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani. “I believe Nate Diaz will actually fight me and isn’t afraid like most of these professional boxers.”
Paul is currently scheduled to fight Hasim Rahman Jr., whose father was a boxing heavyweight champion, on Aug. 6 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Although Paul has a fight on deck, there’s been plenty of talk about a potential showdown with the Stockton superstar, as Diaz recently teased the matchup on Twitter and had UFC president Dana White saying that fight “makes sense.”
Paul has made multiple offers to fight Diaz in MMA under the UFC banner, but placed several conditions around it. In the end, he never heard back from the promotion or White.
“The ball is in Dana’s court,” Paul said. “I’ve said that I would fight Nate Diaz in the UFC for free. All Dana White has to do is raise the fighter minimum (pay) from $12,000 to $50,000 and give the fighters long-term healthcare, and I’ll fight Nate Diaz for free.
“I’ll be Nate Diaz’s last fight on his UFC contract. I made that offer to no avail, and that’s where things stand. I think that fight could happen eventually. When he gets out of his UFC contract, I would love to box him. Nate wants that to happen, but obviously Dana White is in control of all these guys and won’t let him out of his contract.”
