After his recent boxing match with Jake Paul, MMA veteran Nate Diaz didn’t hold back his opinions, sparking a crucial question in the combat sports world: Why doesn’t Jake Paul fight “real fighters”? Diaz, despite losing a unanimous decision to the YouTube sensation, gave Paul credit for his boxing skills but questioned the legitimacy of his foray into the fight game. This sentiment resonates with many critics and fans who are eager to see Paul test his mettle against established boxers or high-caliber MMA fighters in their prime.
“I’m not trying to talk smack,” Diaz clarified in the post-fight press conference, acknowledging Paul’s dedication. “He’s boxing high-level MMA guys and he’s sparring hard and working with good people.” However, Diaz pointed to a fundamental distinction in his eyes. He argued that Paul’s opponents, primarily from the MMA world or past-their-prime boxers, don’t constitute the “real fights” that would truly validate his boxing career.
Diaz emphasized this point by contrasting the boxing match with a hypothetical “real fight” scenario. “If it’s a real fight… 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.” He wasn’t necessarily dismissing Paul’s abilities in the boxing ring, but rather highlighting the controlled environment of a boxing match versus the unpredictable nature of a true, no-holds-barred fight. For Diaz, the boxing match was a “competition,” a different arena altogether from what he considers a “real fight.”
In the boxing match itself, Diaz, at 38 years old and in his professional boxing debut, showed his characteristic resilience. Despite Paul, 26, landing more punches (174 to 143) and scoring a knockdown in the fifth round, Diaz absorbed the punishment and continued to press forward, even attempting a guillotine choke in the final seconds – a move clearly outside the bounds of boxing, and ironically proving Diaz’s point about the difference between a boxing match and a “real fight.”
“Done deal. That was already [over], that fight,” Diaz said about the guillotine attempt. “In a real fight, this fight’s over and we’re sitting up here with a win. But we were participating in a boxing match and it was a good time.” This moment underscored Diaz’s argument: in a genuine fight, his MMA instincts and grappling skills would come into play, changing the dynamic entirely.
Looking ahead, the question of Jake Paul’s future opponents remains. While a rematch with Diaz in MMA under the PFL banner has been floated, the core question of whether Paul will step into the ring or cage against fighters recognized as top contenders in their respective sports persists. Nate Diaz’s post-fight comments have amplified the ongoing debate: When will Jake Paul test himself against fighters who truly represent the highest level of competition, and move beyond the realm of celebrity boxing into genuine combat sports legitimacy? The answer, for now, remains to be seen, but the demand for Paul to face “real fighters” is only growing louder.
