Nate Diaz confirms intention to return to UFC after Jake Paul fight: “I appreciate the UFC more now”

By Josh Evanoff - August 4, 2023

Former UFC title challenger Nate Diaz intends to return to MMA after his fight with Jake Paul.

Nate Diaz

The Stockton native has been out of the cage since a fourth-round submission at UFC 279 last September. With the victory, Nate Diaz became a free agent for the first time in over a decade. Following the win over Tony Ferguson, the former title challenger announced his intention to head to boxing.

While first linked to Logan Paul, he will instead face Jake Paul tomorrow night on DAZN and ESPN pay-per-view. The boxing match will be the first of Nate Diaz’s career, but won’t be his last. However, in an interview taken pre-fight with the Full Send Podcast, he also confirmed his intention to return to the UFC after tomorrow night.

It’s not the first time that Nate Diaz has hinted that could return to MMA after the one-off fight with Jake Paul. However, ‘The Problem Child’ has long attempted to book a potential rematch in the cage in the PFL. That doesn’t look likely, as the Stockton legend plans to return to the UFC, having found a newfound appreciation for the promotion.

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Nate Diaz and Dana White

“Yeah, I’m going to do MMA,” Nate Diaz stated when asked about his plans after his fight with Jake Paul. “100%, I’ll box and do MMA, again a bunch of times. I think afterward, after every fight, it’s like, after my last fight with Ferguson, I got out. It was like a breath of fresh air.”

He continued, “I appreciate the UFC more now than when I was in it, you know what I’m saying? I can see different things that I wouldn’t even look at when I was in there. Like ‘Oh, that’s why they do that, cool actually’. So, I’m going to get done with this fight, then I’m sure another breath of fresh air.”

What do you make of these comments from Nate Diaz? Are you excited for his boxing match against Jake Paul?


Topics:

Jake Paul Nate Diaz UFC