Jorge Masvidal thinks Jake Paul will be in for a tough night against his former UFC opponent Nate Diaz in their boxing match.
Diaz, 38, makes his boxing debut against YouTube star Paul, 26, on August 5 in Dallas, Texas after parting ways with the UFC last September. Diaz competed in the UFC for 15 years and crossed paths with Masvidal in November 2019 as they fought for the inaugural 'BMF' title, with 'Gamebred' winning the bout by doctor stoppage.
Masvidal recently appeared on Paul's B/S podcast, which came as a surprise to many after 'The Problem Child' shared a clip of the ex-UFC star 'confronting' him in Miami earlier this week. Masvidal discussed Paul's upcoming fight against Diaz and explained why he thinks his former opponent will have an easy transition to the ring.
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"Nate is definitely going to have the experience over you and he's got crazy endurance," Masvidal told Paul. "I think the opening round is going to tell me a lot. He has got great cardio and I think especially in boxing, he's going to make an easy transition. I would think out of all the categories you could have in martial arts, boxing is something that comes very natural to him. He is going to be a decent boxer."
Masvidal and Paul were on good terms two years ago as the former helped 'The Problem Child' prepare for his boxing fight against Ben Askren. The duo then had a falling out after Masvidal backed his former teammate Tyron Woodley to beat Paul, something that Paul took offence to and led to him campaigning for a fight against Masvidal.
'Gamebred' insisted the UFC were never keen on the idea of him boxing whilst under contract as he told Paul: "If I am being honest with you, the conversations I had with the UFC they never wanted to let me go and do boxing. They have shut down things of that nature, so I don't think you know how far away we really were from doing something like that."
Paul then agreed by replying: "I know how far we were, the only time he's [Dana White, UFC boss] ever let somebody do it is Conor [McGregor]." Despite retiring from the UFC in April, Masvidal is likely still under contract with the promotion having signed a multi-fight deal before his fight against Colby Covington last March.
