With his win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 279, Nate Diaz has fulfilled his contractual obligations to the UFC and is now a free agent. Some restrictions apply: there’s an exclusive negotiation period left, and a one year matching clause. But Diaz is already looking ahead to possible fights in the boxing world.
The Stockton fighter spent Saturday night in Las Vegas at the third Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin fight, which he enjoyed thoroughly.
“It was just kinda how I expected,” Diaz told Boxing Social. “I thought they both had their hands full and it’s a hard mission to accomplish, to get the finish, because they both know each other, they’ve had so many rounds together. I knew they had a big fight ahead of them so it was good to watch, good to see, and glad I was here.”
Asked if the fight got him excited for his own boxing career, Nate replied “100%, I’ve been waiting to get in the boxing ring for fifteen years anyways, so it was cool.”
As for who he wanted to face?
“The best boxers that they can come up with me to fight, I’ll fight anybody,” Diaz said. “I think they’re going to play me down like I’m not a boxer, but if they do, they’re scared anyway. I don’t give a f***. I don’t care if I was in the cage or not, I was stuck in the cage. I would’ve been boxing the whole time. And if I wasn’t getting kicked on the leg, my boxing would look a lot more crisp anyway. So whatever people think they saw about me, they don’t even have a clue about.”
Asked if a bout against Jake Paul was in his future, Diaz sounded interested but non-committal.
“He’s [Jake Paul] a possibility,” the Stockton fighter said. “The best named boxers here are a possibility. Anybody who wants to fight, unless you’re in the toppest tier, don’t even play with me. I’m ready to box anybody.”
Nate Diaz says he’s going into the sport of boxing. pic.twitter.com/wZoKkDbN2s
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) September 11, 2022
In another interview with iD Boxing on the same night, Diaz went into further detail regarding Jake Paul, saying if Paul got past Anderson Silva, “now we’ve got a fight on our hands.” Paul and Silva are set to fight on October 29th in Phoenix Arizona. Current betting odds have Anderson Silva the slight -140 favorite over Jake Paul, who is a +100 underdog.
While a fight against Paul would be the biggest payday and lowest risk, it’s very possible Diaz could skirt the YouTube/Influencer circus and take on a legitimate boxer instead. Nate Diaz often sparred with two-division boxing champion Andre Ward, who feels the 37-year-old can hang with the top dogs. There’s even been some whispers that Nate Diaz could face Floyd Mayweather after ‘Money’ dispatches Mikuru Asakura in Japan next weekend and YouTuber Deji in November.
There was no comment from Nate Diaz as to whether he’d be interested in boxing Anderson Silva. Historically, the Diaz brothers have been pretty strict about refusing to face each others’ past opponents.
Who do you think Nate Diaz should face in his first post-UFC boxing bout? Let us know in the comments, BJPENN Nation!