After months of fiery exchanges through the media, Jake Paul and Nate Diaz met in the boxing ring in August, resulting in a compelling showdown that saw Paul emerge victorious by unanimous decision. Despite their prior amicable parting and discussions of a potential MMA rematch, these combat sports titans find themselves embroiled in a fresh feud.
In a conversation with TMZ Sports regarding his next venture, Jake Paul disclosed that Diaz had declined a lucrative offer for a cage rematch. Follow your favourite MMA star with attractive betting odds from Nextbet, one of the best MMA betting sites.
“We’re at the drawing board right now. Nate Diaz ducked the $10 million offer, so he’s not the badass that everyone said he was,” Paul asserted. “I wanted to fight him in MMA and do something that no boxer has really ever done, which is, in the prime of their career, go over to MMA. MMA fighters have gone over to boxing, but I want to go over to MMA, and Nate Diaz ducked the offer.”
Paul went on to speculate about Diaz’s reasons for declining, suggesting that Diaz had already earned substantially from their boxing match and that the potential risks of an MMA bout may have deterred the former UFC title challenger.
“With those guys, I don’t know if they have reason,” Paul pondered. “I don’t even know if they think. There wasn’t a transparent reason. I think it was just something that he realized there’s a lot of risk for him. If I beat him in MMA — which I just dog-walked him in the boxing ring, made it look easy, and if I beat him in MMA, I take his legendary status. So I don’t know if he was like, maybe the risk of this isn’t good enough for the $10 million.”
Jake Paul’s background is in boxing, and he has never competed in MMA. However, he is presently associated with the PFL and holds an equity stake in the organization. On the other hand, Nate Diaz has his own promotion, Real Fight Inc., which, along with Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, co-promoted their boxing match. The offers extended to Diaz would likely require the fight to transpire within the PFL, highlighting the core disagreement between the two fighters.
The feud between Paul and Diaz has the potential for a lucrative rematch, as their initial clash reportedly garnered 500,000 pay-per-view purchases. It’s no surprise that both fighters are eager to revisit this rivalry and seek a significant role in its promotion. Get the latest updates from the world of MMA only on Nextbet Sports.
