Nate Diaz has vowed to "f*** up" Jake Paul in the same way he claims he did Conor McGregor when he makes his boxing debut against the YouTube star.
Diaz became a free agent after choking out Tony Ferguson in his final fight with the UFC, and has been heavily linked with a showdown against influencer Paul. This week in a shock announcement, it was confirmed that Diaz would finally get a chance to settle his rivalry with the YouTube star where he will make his maiden appearance in the boxing ring.
The fight has been announced to take place on August 5 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, which will see Diaz look to hand Paul the second defeat of his boxing career after he recently fell short against Tommy Fury. And in a bold statement of intent from the Stockton native, Diaz suggested his rival has the biggest profile in boxing outside of Canelo Alvarez.
He said in a brief assessment after the fight was announced: “Besides Canelo he’s the biggest thing in boxing. I’m here to conquer that. I’m the king of combat sports and then I’m headed back to get my UFC belts. I f***ed up Conor McGregor for acting out and now here I am again, like a super hero of the real fight game, the king of the real fight game.”
Diaz has had a huge career in the UFC which has seen him share the cage with some of the sport's leading names including two fights with McGregor, Jorge Masvidal and Anthony Pettis. It was a frustrating end to a high-profile career with the promotion as he waited patiently to secure a concluding fight to round off his deal.
However after negotiating with several opponents and initially being set to face Khamzat Chimaev, he ended on a high with a commanding win over Ferguson which fuelled speculation of a meeting with Paul. A trilogy bout with McGregor will likely be on his mind if he does return to the UFC, given his counterpart is set to return against Michael Chandler at 170lb this year.
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Despite having now signed to take on Paul, the Irishman revealed that Diaz was initially in line to step in the cage with his two-time foe but the deal collapsed. “It was originally to be against Nate. It was Nate, me versus Nate,” he told the MMA Hour. "So I had agreed to it, it was Nate, it was like a day or two before. I’m not sure what went down on that end, but it was me versus Chandler, and that’s it.
"That trilogy will happen at some stage for sure. We must fight. We're one apiece, it's a great rivalry, and it was a great fight so we've got to square that away for sure. Am I a person not to get the fights made and done and happen? Look at all the fights I've had. When I say it, it happens."
