Getty Nate Diaz reacts during his UFC 263 welterweight match against Leon Edwards at Gila River Arena.
Social media sensation Jake Paul has been advised by Chael Sonnen to pursue a boxing match with UFC superstar Nate Diaz.
Sonnen made the comments about the 5-0 boxer during a recent YouTube video on his channel. “The American Gangster” pointed to the reported pay-per-view sales Paul made in his most recent bout with former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley.
As per DAZN’s Steven Muehlhausen, the Showtime Boxing event was under the 65,000 buy-rate for cable and satellite. He didn’t report streaming numbers.
With such low reported numbers, Sonnen believes Paul needs to enlist Diaz as his next opponent to get a significant pay-per-view boost. Diaz is currently signed to the UFC, however he only has one fight left on his contract and he’s made it clear he wants to fight as soon as possible and then test out free agency.
“Jake Paul could really use Nate Diaz right now,” Sonnen said via Sportskeeda.com. “Having one bad night isn’t enough to go into absolute panic mode. But having a bad night in the world of pay-per-view; it’s a problem. One bad night is a problem.”
The American Gangster then questioned who needs who more, Paul or Diaz. In terms of starpower to generate buys in the fight world, Sonnen has noticed a possible shift.
“When it does come down to the question of, ‘Who needs who more?’ I don’t know if that was a completely fair question,” Sonnen continued. “May of last year? August of last year? I think that Jake Paul was the bigger star. And that’s a huge compliment I’m giving him. Nate Diaz is a very personal friend of mine, so if I’m saying that Jake Paul is a bigger star than my own friend – You see what? I think there’s an accuracy. I don’t know that that’s still true.”
Paul Has Teased an August Return Date
“The Problem Child” appears ready to step back inside the boxing ring in August, according to several recent social media posts.
He shared a video on Instagram last month of himself hitting mitts and saying: August, I’m back baby.” He also captioned the post: “6-0 coming soon,” tagging his Most Valuable Promotions company.
After Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars in one of the most viral moments of the year, Paul took to Twitter to offer them each $15 million to a box, as well as a spot on his August undercard.
“I got $15m for Will Smith and $15m for Chris Rock ready to go,” The Problem Child tweeted. “Let’s do it in August on my undercard.”
Paul Said He Would KO Conor McGregor in One Round Inside the Octagon
In a recent interview with TMZ Sports, Paul made a bold prediction should he compete against Conor McGregor inside the UFC’s Octagon.
“Conor is on a downhill spiral,” Paul said. “His limbs are all broken. So, stand-up game, I’m coming out and knocking him out, first round.”
McGregor is currently recovering from the broken leg he suffered in July 2021 against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264, and he’s optimistic that he will get back to MMA training this month. Of course, a fight with The Problem Child next is highly unlikely.