Jake Paul is losing hope of ever seeing Nate Diaz in the cage.
In August, Paul faced Diaz in a highly anticipated boxing match, winning by unanimous decision after 10 rounds. After the fight, both men approached the possibility of redoing their mixed martial arts bout, but with Paul set to return to the boxing ring in December, those talks appear to have fallen through. And according to Paul, the blame lies directly with Diaz.
“I don’t know if I would use the word close,” Paul told Ariel Helwani. MMA hour When asked about the match. “I think there was a time when his team had a real interest in making it happen, but then there was radio silence. Then he started calling it P**** FL and stuff like that. It’s like, “Okay, brother, you either want this to happen or you don’t.”
“And he’s like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it in Real Fight.’ [Inc]. ” That’s not true. We taught them about the business, taught them how to run it, and had them put their logo on the mat. He’s just hiding behind the idea that he doesn’t want to fight in the PFL because they don’t have the promotion, they don’t have the infrastructure, they don’t have the funds to make the event possible. But, you know, eventually he’s going to need or want money. So I don’t write it down. Like I said, we’re ready to make it happen, but he just shut down. ”
“Real Fight Inc.” was Diaz’s promotional name, and he served as a co-promoter for Paul’s boxing matches. The company has not yet held another event. Meanwhile, Paul has partnered with PFL for his MMA career and recently shared a photo on Instagram, teasing a possible MMA debut. Paul is currently focused on climbing the ranks in boxing, so it’s unclear when his debut will materialize, but it could happen at any time, especially if Diaz decides to play ball. Paul said there is.
“I have some videos ready to see my headshots and in case an opponent comes out of nowhere and I hope to have an MMA match soon,” Paul said. Talked about these photos at PFL Gear. “I think that’s the biggest thing going into MMA, the opponent has to make a lot of sense. It has to be a big name, but at the same time it has to be a 50-50 fight.
“Nate Diaz is the best person to do that because I really, deeply, deep down know I can beat him, but I also know it’s going to be a challenge and I’m going to have to really, really try. It won’t be for it. But what excites me is being in this battle where the chances are 50/50. ”
But for the time being, MMA will have to wait.
Paul is scheduled to face professional boxer Andre Auguste in an eight-round bout on December 15th at the Caribe Royal Resort in Orlando, Florida. Paul chose this matchup because his ultimate goal was to fight a real boxer rather than a mixed martial artist or influencer. About him getting a shot against Canelo Alvarez.
So for now, Paul will focus on boxing, but he has hinted that he will be ready to step into the smart cage sometime next year.
“Potentially, that’s what we wanted for Nate,” Paul said of fighting in MMA next year. “We said late 2024 and tried to bring the deal forward to no avail. So we’ve been circling around like that, but we don’t have any meaningful opponents at this point.”
