After beating former UFC champion Anderson Silva, Jake Paul expects to have no issues against Nate Diaz.
Paul won a unanimous decision over Silva in boxing this past Saturday at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Ariz, where he was able to drop the MMA legend in Round 8. In his post-fight news conference, Paul reacted to Diaz’s backstage scuffle with his team and suggested they fight. But having just outlasted Silva, the YouTube star sees Diaz as a step down.
“I’ll be down,” Paul said on The MMA Hour. “I just beat one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time. Nate Diaz is easy work. Anderson Silva is way more difficult than Nate Diaz.”
Paul explains that Diaz’s striking style wouldn’t fair well against him in the boxing ring.
“Well, he’s like slow and at the end of his career,” Paul said. “He’s lost it as far as striking. Maybe he still has jiu-jitsu, but as far as striking and all that, he’s just like a street fighter. Boxing is like the purest sport. It’s art, and you can’t come in and street-fight someone in a boxing match. Anderson has length, has the height. Anderson hits harder, is more slippery, has better head movement, the list goes on. I know so that Nate is easier.”
Diaz recently became a free agent when he fought out his UFC contract in a submission win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 279 in September. But typically, UFC contracts have a three-month exclusive negotiation period, meaning that legally, no other negotiations can take place during that period.
For complete coverage of the card, check out MMA Junkie’s event page for Paul vs. Silva.
