Former UFC fighter claims Nate Diaz vs. Jake Paul MMA bout will be “competitive”

Dan Hardy believes a Nate Diaz vs. Jake Paul MMA fight will be more competitive than people think. The former UFC star recently weighed in on the proposed Diaz-Paul rematch in the cage and claimed he wouldn’t count the YouTuber out owing to his boxing skills. He also shared an interesting prediction for such a bout. 

Nate Diaz and Jake Paul faced each other in a boxing match at the American Airlines Center last weekend. The ten-round contest marked the Stockton slugger’s first foray into the boxing ring. Unfortunately, Diaz’s debut saw him lose the fight via unanimous decision. After Paul got his hand raised, he immediately challenged Diaz to an MMA fight and claimed to have a $10 million standing offer for him to accept. 

While an MMA fight between a UFC veteran like Nate Diaz and Jake Paul seems outrageous to many, Dan Hardy has a contrarian opinion. 

In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, ‘The Outlaw’ stated:

“Honestly, and I know I’m going to get some heat for this, but I think it could be competitive. With what we’ve seen from Jake Paul in a boxing match is that he’s willing to stand and trade with Nate at times. He’s willing to be in the pocket… In a striking sense, it’s going to be some level of competitiveness.” 

He added:

“Most likely Nate would submit him of course, but I can’t count Jake out.”

Nate Diaz vs. Jake Paul: Nick Diaz wants to avenge his younger sibling’s loss; calls for a fight against either of the Paul brothers

Nick Diaz recently weighed in on the Nate Diaz vs. Jake Paul boxing match. The former UFC star claimed he wanted to avenge his younger sibling’s loss and called for a fight against the YouTuber-turned-boxer or his elder brother Logan Paul. 

The ‘Diaz Army’ head honcho was in attendance at the American Airlines Center in Dallas to support his brother. After the younger Diaz sibling lost his boxing debut via unanimous decision, the elder sibling took the mic to make it clear that he was open to fighting the Paul brothers if Nate Diaz wasn’t up to it. 

Speaking on the pay-per-view, Nick Diaz said:

“I think [Nate Diaz] needed a little more work. But let’s cut to the chase, I’m a lot better than both of these guys that are out there. I’d love to entertain the idea of moving in on whomever they’ve got for me. So if they want to do Round 2 [against Jake], if [Nate] ain’t going to do it, I’ll take it. [Jake’s] got an older brother too, so don’t forget about the one and only.”

Catch Diaz’s comments below (2:15):