Jake Paul declared another triumph against an MMA fighter in his unbeaten streak.
The previous YouTuber turned fighter emerged triumphant in a unanimous choice (97-92, 98-91, 98-91) against Nate Diaz throughout Saturday night’s sold-out occasion at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Despite harming Diaz in the preliminary and at first appearing to have the fight under control, Diaz revealed strength and made it a competitive match.
In a postfight interview, Paul acknowledged Diaz’s durability however stressed that durability alone is insufficient in the sport. He discussed knocking Diaz down and winning nearly every round, applauding his own group’s conditioning. Paul highlighted the rarity of going 10 rounds in just his 8th expert fight and revealed pride in beating a UFC legend.
Following the fight, Paul challenged Diaz to an MMA match, and Diaz appeared open up to the concept. Paul and PFL have actually currently used Diaz $10 million, however Diaz’s agent, Zach Rosenfield, president of Real Fight Inc., recommended that the rate would require to be greater.
In an interview with ESPN, Diaz revealed his desire for a rematch in boxing if he had actually simply lost the fight. However, he likewise mentioned that he would do MMA if required to protect a rematch with Paul.
Paul handled to drop Diaz in the 5th round, although Diaz rapidly recuperated. Diaz lightheartedly discussed trying a guillotine choke on Paul throughout the 10th and last round. Overall, Paul landed 174 punches compared to Diaz’s 143. Diaz showcased his strength on the within, while Paul efficiently used a left hook from the outdoors, triggering considerable damage to Diaz on several celebrations.
Explaining his technique, Paul shared that Diaz had actually concentrated on safeguarding against his ideal punches, permitting him to make use of the opening and efficiently utilize his left hook.
After the fight, Diaz exposed that he had actually hurt his arm throughout training, impacting his jab. Diaz’s boxing coach, Richard Perez, verified this at the postfight press conference.
At 26 years of ages, Paul now holds a 7-1 record in boxing. His just loss was available in his previous bout against Tommy Fury. Paul has actually beat previous UFC champs Anderson Silva and Tyron Woodley, with 2 success over Woodley, consisting of one by knockout. He has actually been an expert fighter because 2020 and has actually handled to tear down or knockout every challenger he has actually dealt with up until now.
On the other hand, 38-year-old Diaz made his expert boxing launching in this match. This fight was at a weight of 185 pounds, the heaviest in Diaz’s profession.
Diaz discussed that if offered another chance, he would not have actually attempted to put on weight as it slowed him down throughout training.
Diaz had an effective 17-year profession in the UFC and was thought about among the promo’s leading stars. Notably, he choked out Conor McGregor, handing McGregor his very first UFC defeat, in 2016. After winning his last UFC fight against Tony Ferguson in September, Diaz ended up being a complimentary representative and established Real Fight Inc. He revealed his objective to look for considerable and interesting battles on his own terms.
The occasion was a 50-50 cooperation in between Real Fight Inc. and Most Valuable Promotions, co-founded by Paul. According to Rosenfield, both Paul and Diaz were set to make eight-figure amounts for the fight, surpassing Diaz’s previous UFC revenues. Nakisa Bidarian, co-founder of MVP, commented that Diaz was the very first prominent challenger, or “A-side,” that Paul had actually dealt with in his profession, highlighting the magnitude of the occasion.
Throughout the week leading up to the fight, stress intensified in between Paul and Diaz’s groups. Verbal exchanges at press conference led to a physical run-in in between the guard representing both sides. The weigh-in likewise saw Paul and Diaz taking part in a physical conflict. Diaz explained the clashes as a clash of approaches and generations, representing the standard martial artist against Paul’s influencer culture, emblematic of the Gen Z age.
After the fight, Paul and Diaz appeared to fix up, with Diaz providing credit to Paul’s abilities.
Diaz mentioned at the press conference, “He’s a huge, athletic guy, and he strikes hard. But it’s absolutely nothing I have not seen prior to.”
