Jake Paul still interested in matchup with Nate Diaz after Anderson Silva fight: “There’s beef between Nate Diaz and I”

Jake Paul still has his eye on a showdown with UFC welterweight star Nate Diaz.

The Stockton native is fresh off his fight over Tony Ferguson last month at UFC 279. The headliner came together on short notice after Khamzat Chimaev missed weight for the main event. As a result, ‘El Cucuy’ was bumped to the headliner against Diaz.

In the makeshift main event, the fan favorite won by fourth-round submission. With that, Diaz had finished his UFC contract and was free to sign anywhere. In his post-fight interview, the longtime UFC star stated that he planned to move to the world of boxing next.

The announcement didn’t come as a shock to Jake Paul. ‘The Problem Child’ is set to return to action later this month against Anderson Silva on Showtime pay-per-view. It’ll be Paul’s first fight since his stellar knockout victory over Tyron Woodley last December.

The YouTuber-turned-boxer believes that Nate Diaz could possibly face him next, as the two have gone back and forth on social media in the past. In an interview with MMAJunkie, Paul stated that he would be down for the fight next after his matchup with ‘The Spider’.

Jake Paul KO’s Tyron Woodley

“I would be surprised if he actually was a free agent,” Paul stated. “I feel like Dana [White] has a way of tying these guys in, like hidden into the contract. That’s just how I feel about it, I don’t know if it’s true or not. But yeah, if he can actually become a free agent then I think that’s a cool fight. I would love to do that. I’m not overlooking Anderson Silva, but there’s beef between Nate Diaz and I.” (h/t MMAJunkie)

He continued, “He’s a big name. He went out with a bang, had an electric performance, and people are saying, ‘Oh, you’re fighting these retired MMA fighters.’ No I’m not. Anderson never retired and Nate Diaz left winning and he’s one of the baddest men on the planet. So what about fighting an active UFC fighter? What now? So that’s why I think that fight is interesting. Hopefully I get through Anderson, and hopefully Nate Diaz can get out of his contract and we’ll see if that makes sense.”

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