YouTube sensation turned professional fighter Jake Paul is set to take on former UFC fighter Nate Diaz in a much-anticipated boxing bout. It was announced on Wednesday that a Paul vs. Diaz match will take place in American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on Saturday, Aug. 5.
The bout will be put on by Jake's Most Valuable Promotions and Diaz’ Real Fight Inc. and will be a DAZN Pay-Per-View fight.
Jake posted about the fight on social media saying, "August 5th we commemorate the funeral for Nathaniel Diaz as we send him in casket back to Dana [White]."
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Paul and Diaz have had many words with each other on social media, with the two exchanging insults in interviews for almost 18 months. Paul even challenged Diaz in his post-fight interview after defeating Anderson Silva in October of last year.
Paul is 6-1 as a pro boxer and holds wins over UFC fighters Anderson Silva, Tyron Woodley (twice) and Ben Askren. All three are former world champions in various organizations with Silva and Woodley reigning as UFC middleweight and welterweight champions, respectively. Paul has also defeated NBA player Nate Robinson and fellow YouTube star AnEsonGib.
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"Jake's star power and popularity continue to command massive audiences worldwide," Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian said in a statement.
"His most recent bout, Paul vs. Fury, surpassed more than 800,000 pay-per-view purchases and was a commercial success for all our partners. Jake remains one of the most avidly followed fighters in the sport and all eyes are on him ..."
Paul's lone loss came against Tommy Fury earlier this year.
"My last fight didn't end the way I wanted, but the result was the best thing that could have happened to my professional boxing aspirations," Paul said.
"Now, the world thinks I am vulnerable when all I am is more focused than ever. My team wanted me to take an easy fight like KSI next, but that's not how I am built. Nate Diaz is considered one of the most bad-a** fighters of all time, but he and his team have been running their mouths for too long."
Diaz, who turns 38 on April 16, is a mixed martial artist known as a striker (21-13, MMA). Diaz is significantly smaller, 11 years older and has sustained a lot of damage over the course of his 19-year career.
Despite his injuries, Diaz seems extremely confident that he can defeat Paul. "Besides Canelo, he’s the biggest thang in boxing," Diaz said of Paul in a statement. "I’m here to conquer that. I'm the King of combat sports and then I'm headed back to get my UFC belts."
Diaz has made it known that he plans on returning to the UFC with a Conor McGregor trilogy fight still on the table down the road.
