Jake Paul is back in the win column, but he didn’t really beat Nate Diaz cleanly in their massive boxing match.
In February, Jake Paul had his first bout against an actually dedicated boxer in Tommy Fury. That ended with a split decision loss for the YouTuber and seemingly had him step back and return to fighting aged mixed martial artists. Nate Diaz is more timeless than he is aged, though.
Diaz put together a boxing performance that looked the same as any of his most entertaining MMA fights. He experienced early trouble, composed himself late, and mixed stiff shots with smack talk. Also like many of Diaz’s most entertaining MMA fights, it ultimately ended with a decision loss.
Jake Paul roughs up Nate Diaz early
Though the event was a wacky one that featured gimmicky matches and Twitch streamer and model Amouranth as a ring card, Jake Paul wasn’t joking. Paul opened the fight in explosive fashion, dazing Diaz with a lead left hook and pouring on punishment from there. Diaz remained upright and the referee never stepped in for a standing eight count, but Diaz slowed things down with clinch work long enough to recover and make it to the stool.
The frantic offense of round one had Paul visibly less spry after the break, but he was far from tired. Diaz seemingly shook off all the troubles of the previous round and traded clean shots, but not without taking punishment of his own. Paul likely got the better of the round, but Diaz showed that his chin and cardio remain as good as ever.
The Diaz fans remember from UFC really arrived in round three. He plodded forward and delivered trash talk between exchanges, but didn’t really land anything of note. Though Diaz’s cardio is more thoroughly proven, Paul’s looked strong as well.
A surprising transition happened in round four. While Nate Diaz’s striking has long been defined by his range, he pivoted to a style more similar to his brother, Nick. He crowded Paul and swarmed him with light punches. It’s a style designed to wear his opponent down and while it didn’t necessarily do that, it did help potentially get his first round on the scorecards.
Diaz looked more confident in round five but that bit him badly. With his hands low, he was tagged by a huge left hook that sent him crashing under the ropes. Diaz was quick to get back to his feet and met the eight count, but ate a big uppercut to keep him from mounting any threatening offense.
Diaz rallies after knockdown, but comes up short
Starting with round six, Diaz went back to the volume-punching style. While he had some success with that, Jake Paul’s cardio held up into the later rounds. Diaz still seemed to have the edge in this department, but wasn’t able to turn this into a significant difference in strikes landed until the eighth round.
The final three rounds saw Paul compose himself in the first half, but slow down and eat punches in the second. The early success of Jake Paul had Diaz in a position where he needed to score knockdowns, but this didn’t materialize.
Jake Paul’s chin held up down the stretch, allowing him to take the unanimous decision victory to the tune of 97-92, 98-91, 98-91.
Will Jake Paul and Nate Diaz have an MMA fight?
Jake Paul challenged Nate Diaz to an MMA fight after their boxing match, but it is unknown if it will happen.
While Jake Paul is primarily known for his YouTube and boxing careers, he is also contracted to the PFL MMA promotion. Though he signed in January, there’s been no apparent movement on his first fight.
Despite the challenge, there’s no guarantee of the match happening. Paul’s boxing career to this point has been defined by him taking on beatable opponents with some name value. Though Diaz didn’t come out on top of their boxing match, he would be an overwhelming favorite if they faced off in the cage. Though Paul vs. Diaz 2 in an MMA fight would certainly be interesting, fans shouldn’t expect it to happen.
