GLENDALE, Arizona – Jake Paul wasn’t the least bit surprised to learn after he defeated Anderson Silva that Nate Diaz was involved in an incident with his team earlier Saturday night at Desert Diamond Arena.
Now that he has overcome Silva, however, Paul hopes he and Diaz can settle their beef in a boxing ring. Paul made it clear that he wants to face Diaz, yet another former UFC legend, in his next boxing match.
If they come to an agreement, the 37-year-old Diaz would be the fourth aged UFC fighter Paul has fought since he began his polarizing boxing career in January 2020.
“Nate Diaz was here, acting like a bitch,” Paul said during his post-fight press conference. “Everyone wants that fight. He tried to fight people in the hallway. You know, Nate, stop fighting people for free. Let’s do it in the ring, OK? I know you’re a little slow, buddy, but it’s OK. We can make that fight happen.”
Diaz, a popular UFC figure from Stockton, California, attended the Paul-Silva card in part to support his friend and stablemate, Chris Avila, who defeated “Doctor” Mike Varshavski by unanimous decision in a four-round cruiserweight fight that opened Showtime’s five-fight pay-per-view broadcast.
Paul-Diaz appears makeable because Diaz’s exclusive contract with UFC ended after his fourth-round submission win against Tony Ferguson in the main event at UFC 279 on September 10 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Diaz, who is considered one of the best strikers in UFC history, is 22-13 in MMA matches, including a second-round submission upset of Conor McGregor at UFC 196 in March 2016 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
According to published reports, Diaz and members of his team were escorted by police from Desert Diamond Arena after an altercation with members of Paul’s team in a hallway backstage. Showtime’s Ariel Helwani reported that drinks were thrown during the scuffle, but that it was broken up by security personnel before it escalated.
“I haven’t seen the video and I didn’t really know what happened [before my fight],” Paul said. “I just know there was an altercation with my team. I was focused on what was going on [with the Silva fight], but I was made aware of it afterwards. And it’s, you know, typical of [Diaz]. That’s what he likes to do. He’s a street gangster. He likes to act tough and he’s really not. Like, why you trying to beat someone up in the hallway, bro?”
The 25-year-old Paul (6-0, 4 KOs) dropped Brazil’s Silva with a right hand early in the eighth round of their cruiserweight contest. The 47-year-old Silva (3-2, 2 KOs) recovered quickly and made the remainder of the final round competitive, but the former UFC middleweight champion lost unanimously, by scores of 78-73, 78-73 and 77-74.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
