Former interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier has picked Jake Paul to defeat his old octagon rival Nate Diaz when the pair meet in the boxing ring.
Poirier and Diaz were signed up to fight in 2018, but the bout was cancelled due to injury and never rescheduled. They then both agreed verbally to a welterweight clash last year, just weeks after the Louisiana native had lost his second shot at undisputed gold, but the deal was never made official and their talks petered out.
Now, Poirier has bet against his fellow MMA fighter by backing Diaz to lose in his upcoming boxing debut against Paul later this summer. He has, however, declared he hopes his old rival gets paid properly after a difficult few years with the UFC after his win over Conor McGregor in 2016.
"Jake’s younger, bigger, faster - it’s not an easy fight,” Poirier said during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour. “Just because Nate’s a grizzled veteran with the right experience, and Jake’s a new guy who’s on YouTube, he’s got the money and the amenities to surround himself with the best people and dedicate himself to fighting and he’s younger and more explosive. I think Diaz’s boxing is good for MMA but it’s a completely different thing."
Poirier is still keen to one day make that fight happen with Diaz, but that is unlikely to happen now that the former title challenger has left MMA's top promotion. Now, Poirier is set to headline at UFC 291 in July against Justin Gaethje for the BMF belt, which was originally created for Diaz and Jorge Masvidal in 2019 before being discontinued.
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“Of course, I always wanted to fight him,” Poirier added. “Look, I want everybody to be paid and to succeed. Whether it’s in this organization or that, I don’t care, we’re putting it all on the line out there. So I hope he got whatever he was looking for. I hope it all works out. I hope he gets paid. Never say never -but it looks like it’s gone.”
Diaz is a massive underdog with bookies, despite reportedly having sparred with Andre Ward over the years and being a considerably more experienced fighter in his own discipline. Paul is 4/11 with certain books, while Diaz is a massive 12/5 for the August 5 bout, which will take place in Houston, Texas.
