Jake Paul believes he would beat Nate Diaz and any other UFC welterweight in the boxing ring.
Paul has been vowing to fight a whole host of the UFC's leading names, including Jorge Masvidal and recent rival Diaz, after knocking out Ben Askren and former promotion champion Tyron Woodley during his fledgling career. Diaz has one final fight remaining on his UFC contract and will take on Khamzat Chimaev on September 11 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Afterwards, Diaz is understood to be keen on a lucrative boxing fight with YouTube star Paul, who has frequently called for the UFC veteran to be released to negotiate the terms. However, this week, UFC president Dana White claimed that Diaz had told him personally that he is uninterested in facing the undefeated boxer.
“I don’t know [if Diaz will fight Paul],” White told Yahoo Sports, who also contacted a Diaz representative for comment and were told he is focused on Chimaev. “He said, ‘I would never do that.’ That’s what he said to me. He said, ‘That s***’s goofy.’ I don’t know. That’s what he said to me.”
Paul has since responded to the claims and has reiterated his offer to fight any of the UFC's leading stars for free in the Octagon. "It is what it is. He is saying that because I knocked out his UFC champion and knocked out Ben Askren, who was a big star at one point in the UFC," Paul said during an interview on the DAZN Boxing show.
"He is doing anything he can to discredit me but I can beat every single person in the UFC in a boxing match at my weight class, which would be about 170-175lb. Kamaru Usman, Masvidal, Nate Diaz - all of these guys I would beat, all of them in boxing. They are just doing that and he is saying that just to discredit it as a 'corny' fight.
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"If I fought in his organisation, he knows it would be one of the biggest pay-per-views in the UFC ever. I told him I was down to fight for free in MMA as long as he increases his fighter healthcare and minimum fighter pay because I want him to pay $50,000 per fight." Diaz recently addressed the rumours that he wanted to fight Paul by declaring he is willing to fight anybody once he is free of his UFC contract this September.
Paul has made multiple offers to fight Diaz, including one prior to his rematch with Woodley last December, which the latter was unable to accept until his UFC future was resolved. Paul is hoping to entice a whole host of other UFC names into the boxing ring, including long-term rival Conor McGregor.
