"I think he's gonna end up fighting Jake Paul" - Josh Thomson believes Nate Diaz is letting his UFC contract run out so he can transition to boxing
Josh Thomson believes Nate Diaz is trying to end his current UFC contract as soon as possible so he can square off against Jake Paul in a boxing bout.
Speaking on episode 216 of the Weighing In podcast, Thomson told renowned MMA referee John McCarthy that Diaz will be looking to make around $5-10 million from a Paul encounter after having his last contracted UFC fight in the coming months.
"Nate is leaving. I think he's gonna end up fighting Jake Paul. That fight is going to happen. I think that they are just looking for that one-time big money fight, say $5-10 million, whatever it is. And maybe, you know, he'll take that one boxing match and just go right off into the sunset. I think stylistically that fight would have to be a 10-12 round one. It could be a fun fight."
Watch Josh Thomson in conversation with his co-host 'Big' John McCarthy in the video below:
Nate Diaz currently holds a 20-13 record and has fought only once across the past two years. His sole appearance was a unanimous decision loss to No.3-ranked welterweight contender Leon Edwards at UFC 263 last June.
Nate Diaz vs. Dustin Poirier could happen in 2022
Dustin Poirier recently told renowned boxing trainer Teddy Atlas that the UFC has offered him a short-notice contest against Nate Diaz.
However, shortly after the podcast episode was released online, the 36-year-old Stockton native took to Twitter to post another disappointing update for fans hoping to see him face Poirier.
He also took a dig at UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira in the same social media post.
"I just talked to the ufc I said wassup with the Dp fight I wanna fight asap but they said dustin sucks and they don’t want it sorry Dustin you suck hope to fight asap tho let’s do this [fist bump emoji]. Ps Olivera you suck too."
🏼I just talked to the ufc I said wassup with the Dp fight I wanna fight asap but they said dustin sucks and they don’t want it sorry Dustin you suck hope to fight asap tho let’s do this 👊🏼
Ps Olivera you suck too
While Poirier appears determined to make the fight with Diaz come to fruition, there seemingly isn't the same level of enthusiasm coming from the other direction.