Nate Diaz eyes redemption after undisciplined ‘bender’ vs. Jake Paul

Nate Diaz’s first foray into professional boxing last summer resulted in a sour performance, as he got knocked down and dropped a 10-round unanimous decision against Jake Paul.

The combat sports hero Diaz (22-13 MMA) will look leverage his cult following and take another swing at the sweet science on Saturday night against Jorge Masvidal (35-17 MMA) in a crossover clash at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, looking to avenge a 2019 loss in the UFC cage against “Gamebred” in a boxing ring instead.

“It would be a lot better to fight him in MMA, but that’s all that he’s allowed to do,” Diaz told BoxingScene during a roundtable discussion. “As long as we get some kind of swinging going on, I’m with it.”

“I’m here to do my job. I trained hard. I came here to win, by any means.”

Diaz suffered a defeat to Masvidal due to a doctor stoppage on cuts when they first met, but he was decisively beaten through the first 15 minutes of the contest. 

Diaz now reveals that he wasn’t fighting at full strength in the clash that crowned the UFC’s first BMF champion. 

“I don’t like to make excuses, so I didn’t, but now we’re here years later – I had a torn meniscus in my knee two weeks before the fight,” said Diaz. “The fight was huge, at Madison Square Garden in New York, and there was no way I wasn’t showing up. The fight would have been a whole other story if I had been more than 20 per cent capable.”  

Diaz also admitted he wasn’t fully prepared to face Paul during their matchup. 

“I think it was OK. He’s a lot bigger. I wish I had a weight class to make so I can actually be more disciplined and do what I needed to do,” said Diaz, who fought Paul at 185 pounds after competing at 170 pounds during his UFC career. “He wasn’t a very skilled opponent. I did a little camp and from there on pretty much went on a bender until the fight. I wish I could have done things a little better. It was necessary so I can now really beat his ass [in a rematch].”

Diaz has scored only one win since 2019, a fourth-round submission against Tony Ferguson in 2022, his last fight in the UFC. Diaz wants to return to the organization for a chance to face Conor McGregor in a trilogy fight. 

“I see it as a fight that needs to happen,” said Diaz. “I want to get this fight out of the way to think about the future. UFC 306 [at the Sphere in Las Vegas] would be great if that is even an option. I want to do big fights against the best opponents for the rest of my career.”

A loss to Masvidal would further cut into the stock and mystique of the Stockton, California-based southpaw slugger, whose rabid following is simply known as “The Diaz Army.”

The 39-year-old Diaz has appeared disinterested at times heading into the Masvidal matchup, abruptly leaving a press conference and arriving late to another.

“I feel like I’m sick of this stuff. I’m ready to fight. I’m ready for the show to go on,” said “I came here to whoop ass and do my thing. I hope y’all watch. 

“We’re ready to fight, nothing else. It’s kill or be killed. He’s done a lot of impressive shit, but I’m gonna be ready for him.”

Masvidal, meanwhile, is promising to hammer the proverbial nail in Diaz’s career.

“I just want to fight and knock this motherfucker dead,” he said.

Diaz vs. Masvidal will be distributed on pay-per-view for $49.99 on Fanmio, DAZN, PPV.com, and UFC Fight Pass.

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.