Getty Nate Diaz
Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping recently responded to Nate Diaz’s “goofy f*****” Twitter diss.
Diaz took aim at Bisping after the former-fighter-turned-analyst suggested that it wouldn’t “be a good idea” for Diaz to box Jake Paul. Paul is recently coming off a unanimous decision win over ex-UFC middleweight king Anderson Silva inside the boxing ring.
And considering Diaz used to be a lightweight combatant, coupled with his inability to utilize his full-fight game in a boxing match, Bisping cautioned Diaz about accepting a bout with “The Problem Child.”
Well, Diaz responded to Bisping’s analysis with a now-deleted tweet.
Sharing a photo of Dan Henderson knocking out “The Count” at UFC 100, Diaz wrote: “The only fight I ever saw by this goofy f*****. Don’t hate me case you ain’t me MB.”
Bisping Asks Diaz: ‘What’s Your Problem?’
Bisping then responded to Diaz through his YouTube channel. And in short, Bisping made it clear that meant no disrespect toward the fighting icon, but he didn’t walk back his take.
“As we know, Nate Diaz was in the building, he got escorted out of the building, and he got in a scuffle with Jake Paul,” Bisping said (h/t MMA News). “I said perhaps Nate Diaz would lose to Jake Paul… of course, that touched a nerve with Nate Diaz, he came out on Twitter the other day and said ‘I wanna see one fight this goofy f******’s ever been in’… showed a picture of me getting knocked out against Dan Henderson. Nate Diaz, c’mon mate, what’s your problem? I didn’t say anything bad, I didn’t say anything disrespectful whatsoever.
“The reality is the position I’m in… we’re analysts, we’re commentators, we do extracurricular stuff as well… and we talk about the sport and we have to give opinions…sometimes I was right, sometimes I was wrong, but 9 times out of 10 I was offending somebody.
“I didn’t say anything bad about Nate Diaz, I just said he was the smaller guy and he used to fight at 155. And in a boxing fight he’s going to have all of his skills taken away…and Jake Paul is predominantly a boxer.”
Bisping Pointed to Diaz’s UFC Tenure as Evidence That He’d Struggle Against the Bigger Paul in a Boxing Match
Bisping’s original comments came in another YouTube video on The Count’s channel. He pointed to Diaz’s success inside the Octagon as a 155-pound fighter relative to 170. Diaz’s sole championship opportunity came as a lightweight in 2012 and as Bisping mentioned, Diaz’s spread as a UFC welterweight is 5-5.
Paul weighed in just under 187 pounds for his tilt with Silva.
“While the majority of Nate Diaz’s fights happened at 155, he was a lightweight then he went up to welterweight, 170-pounds, and he went 5-5,” Bisping said (h/t MMA Fighting). “The only knockout that he got was against Rory Markham in 2010.
“Listen, with boxing gloves on, I don’t think it will be a good idea for Nate Diaz. Nate Diaz was a tremendous mixed martial artist. He beat some phenomenal people, had a tremendous career. He lost some fights and he won a lot of fights. The jiu-jitsu would be gone, the kicking game is gone, the general craftsmanship and the gameplans and the adversity of attacks, punches, kicks, knees, elbows, strangles, chokeholds, triangles, takedowns, you name it.