Following his victory in last night’s boxing match with Nate Diaz, Jake Paul retreated his desire to fight Nate Diaz in the Professional Fighters League (PFL), an MMA organization which Paul signed a deal with earlier this year. Paul won the fight quite comfortably on points (98-91 x2, 97-92) in what was an entertaining bout considering a lot of people had Paul down to easily dispatch Diaz, given how his previous fights with ex-UFc stars have gone.
Unlike pre-fight, respect was shown between the pair once the final bell concluded. Ariel Helwani was interviewing both men in the ring post-fight when Paul confirmed a $10,000,000 offer was on the table for Diaz to fight him in the PFL. The offer was accepted on the condition that Real Fight Inc., Diaz’s promotional company, could co-promote the event.
Although the thirty-eight-year-old Diaz is past his prime, he won his last MMA fight last September against Tony Ferguson at UFC 279 and would go into an MMA fight against Paul as the significant favorite. But how likely is it that the fight actually takes place? Is it a gimmick, or as the kids say nowadays, ‘cap?’ from Paul’s end?
What’s there to lose for Jake Paul and Nate Diaz?
Jake Paul
For ‘The Problem Child,’ not much other than his health. A fight with Diaz under MMA rules would be a brave move, and only a few would give him a chance against the former UFC superstar. Providing Paul doesn’t get knocked out, he will gain massive respect from the MMA community, perhaps even Dana White.
Nate Diaz
Diaz, on the other hand, has a lot more to lose. To state the obvious, a defeat would leave Diaz’s reputation in tatters. Despite never winning a UFC title, he is a contender to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame sometime in the future. A loss would harm his chances of induction even though the fight would take place in the PFL and not the UFC; too much collateral damage.
If the unthinkable happened, and Paul got the victory?
For MMA fans across the world, this outcome isn’t worth thinking about. A victory for Jake Paul would send shockwaves throughout the MMA community. Not only that, the sport as a whole would take a battering as Paul would constantly remind everyone of his victory – and why shouldn’t he?
If Paul were to get the victory, it would tarnish the reputation of MMA as since its inception, a central argument has been that the sport is ‘real fighting.’ Being at the pinnacle of the sport means that you have a claim to be the legitimate ‘Baddest Man On The Planet’ due to the ruleset being closer to a traditional street fight as opposed to boxing, where the fighters are restricted to only using their hands.
Top MMA fighters would have their credibility questioned as Jake Paul would no doubt remind people that he beat Nate Diaz at his own game and would, therefore (in his hypothetical words) beat anybody in either the PFL or UFC. The above is all speculation, but we all know this would happen should the unthinkable play out.
Will the fight happen?
It’s likely at this stage. During the first press conference before the boxing match with Paul, Diaz stated his intention to return to MMA as he wanted to fight ‘real fighters’ and once again confirmed these comments to Ariel Helwani this week during the build-up, suggesting that he had a preference to fight in the UFC.
The offer of $10,000,000 has swayed Diaz’s intentions; it’s a pay-day far greater than he ever received in the UFC. The fight would grant Diaz an opportunity for revenge, something he is looking for after saying in the face-off that he would haunt ‘The Problem Child’ should he lose to him in boxing.
The UFC will try and negotiate with Diaz to return to the Octagon to prevent the fight with Paul from happening in the PFL, a rival organization. They may also dangle the carrot of a third fight with Conor McGregor to conclude their trilogy.
A fight with ‘The Notorious’ would generate big numbers and, therefore, a large payday for Diaz; however, a fight with Paul could jeopardize the potential to close the Diaz-McGregor chapter for good. There’s no guarantee that McGregor will even fight again, let alone Diaz, so the former UFC star may decide to take the money and fight Jake Paul in what looks like an easy night’s work for Diaz on paper.
A fight between Jake Paul and Nate Diaz in the PFL would be the biggest pay-per-view in the company’s history, and it generates far more buys than last night’s event. The build-up would also be more entertaining than it was for last night’s boxing match due to the sheer confidence Diaz would have going into the crossover bout. The fight wouldn’t just be a payday for him; it would be an opportunity to settle the score.
The bookmakers will have Diaz as the overwhelming favorite, and anything other than a Diaz win in comfortable fashion would be one of the biggest MMA upsets of all time. Should a fight between Jake Paul and Nate Diaz take place inside the PFL, fans will be praying that Diaz is the victor; otherwise, we better get used to seeing YouTubers enter the cage for the foreseeable future.
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