Nate Diaz insists Jake Paul ‘can’t really fight’ despite getting rocked, dropped and outpointed by YouTuber-turned-boxer
Ava Arnold
Updated on April 07, 2026
Nate Diaz still doesn’t think Jake Paul is a real fighter.
The UFC legend went 10 rounds with Paul at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday night, and ended up losing by unanimous decision.
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Diaz was rocked badly by ‘The Problem Child’ in round one and spent most of his first three minutes as a professional boxer desperately trying to survive.
The 38-year-old was dropped heavily in round five and cracked by power shots throughout the remaining rounds as he struggled to land cleanly on Paul.
Diaz enjoyed his best moment of the fight in the final frame when he showed off his BJJ skills by breaking boxing rules and locking his opponent in guillotine choke submission.
Conor McGregor’s long-time rival, who has respect for Paul’s boxing skills, believes that moment showed exactly how a real fight between the two men would play out.
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“I’m not trying to f****** talk s***,” Diaz said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.
“He’s boxing high-level MMA guys and he’s sparring hard and working with good people, and then he starts talking s*** to me throughout the camp.
“It comes with the territory, and all is fair, love and war, I’m always about that.
“Say whatever you want, that’s fine. But then when you start making things personal, trying to make things personal, saying s*** he shouldn’t be saying, it hurts people’s feelings when I say this ain’t a real fight.
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“Because if it’s a real fight, remember Logan Paul [lookalike Rodney Petersen] in New Orleans? No problem.
“This is not a real fight to be talking to me like that. This is a boxing competition. So that’s what I meant by he can’t really fight. It’s not overly disrespectful. If you can’t really fight, don’t be talking s***.”
Paul immediately expressed his desire to rematch Diaz in MMA.
The 26-year-old is signed to PFL and has previously offered the UFC legend $10 million to welcome him to a new sport.
Diaz initially scoffed at the offer, but he appears much more open to fighting Paul in MMA after sharing 30 minutes with him in a boxing ring this weekend.
