"I don't think why anyone would think that Nate has a chance" - Ben Askren brutally honest on Nate Diaz's possible matchup with former opponent Jake Paul
There has been plenty of speculation that mixed martial arts icon Nate Diaz will be Jake Paul's next boxing opponent. Following the former YouTube star's unanimous decision victory over Anderson Silva, Paul's former opponent Ben Askren believes that Diaz has no chance in a potential fight with 'The Problem Child'.
Jake Paul vs Anderson Silva scorecard 🥊 #PaulSilva #Boxing https://t.co/0Mw5Flo53h
During a recent interview with Submission Radio, Askren was asked if he thinks a fight between Diaz and Paul will take place. The former Bellator welterweight champion stated:
"There's a chance. I mean I don't know why anyone would think that Nate has much of a chance given what just happened. Nate's a lot smaller. I don't think anyone would consider Nate on the level of striker that Anderson is, but yeah I guess it might happen."
Askren shared that he doesn't think a fight between the two would be a very big event. To this date, his meeting with the Cleveland native remains the highest-selling pay-per-view event of Paul's relatively short boxing career.
While the matchup was his first pay-per-view event, it reportedly did 1,500,000 buys on social network site Triller. He faced former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley twice before facing Anderson Silva. Combined, the three fights reportedly sold under 1,000,000 buys.
Watch Ben Askren discuss Nate Diaz facing Jake Paul below (starting at the 21:22 mark):
Ariel Helwani expresses doubt over Jake Paul's proposed United Fighters Association
Prior to his boxing match against Anderson Silva, Jake Paul proposed a bet to the UFC legend. The terms of the bet stated that if Paul won, the two would come together to create a United Fighters Association to help UFC fighters get better pay and healthcare. Following Paul's victory, MMA journalist Ariel Helwani cast doubt on on the proposed association being brought to fruition.
Jake Paul says he'll fight Anderson Silva in kickboxing if Silva wins... If Jake wins, the two will come together to form a United Fighters' Association to help UFC fighters get better pay and healthcare. Both sides agreed #PaulSilva https://t.co/o9ixPCQJ92
The MMA Hour host stated:
"No one's asking him to do this. There are a lot of fighters who don't like him, don't trust him, don't want to be on board with whatever he's trying to do and that's going to be a tough sell in its own right."
He added:
"It's going to be tough, it's not going to be easy and being Jake Paul doesn't make it easier because on the one hand you're feuding with these guys and on the other hand you're trying to get them on board. It's tough because now you have people who think, 'You're disrespecting our legends.' That doesn't really mesh with trying to bring everyone together."
It remains to be seen if anything will come to fruition over the proposed association. Paul has reached out to several mixed martial artists asking for their assistance.
Watch Ariel Helwani cast doubt over Jake Paul's proposed United Fighters Association below (starting at the 26:00 mark):