Former UFC star Nate Diaz received a fiery response from Jake Paul after he was made aware of the altercation backstage.
This past Saturday, social media sensation turned boxer Paul faced mixed martial arts icon Anderson Silva in a boxing match at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. He put in an impressive performance to keep it competitive in his toughest challenge yet and even scored a knockdown of Silva. ‘The Problem Child’ managed to edge out Silva after an entertaining eight rounds by unanimous decision.
Diaz was in attendance at the Arena to support his teammate Chris Avila for his bout with YouTuber Dr. Mike Varshavski, which he won by unanimous decision in the card opener. However, just before the main event, he was escorted out with his clique after they got into a scuffle backstage with team Paul.
At the post-fight press conference, Paul shared his thoughts on what transpired behind the scenes with the Stockton native.
“I was made aware of it [altercation] afterwards. It’s typical of him, that is what he likes to do, he is a street gangster,” said Paul. “He likes to act tough and he is really not. Like, ‘Why are you trying to beat some up in a hallway, bro?’”
Before Paul took to the ring for the match, a video of Diaz’s team getting into a brawl with Paul’s camp did rounds online.
Something just popped off in the back between what looks like Nate Diaz and his team with possibly Jake Paul’s team. #PaulSilva
In a follow-up video, Diaz can be seen slapping a man with a shaved head and tattoos before the security and staff stepped in.
Nate Diaz slaps someone in the face😭 #PaulSilva
Paul Isn’t Sure Who’s Next but Is Down To Fight Diaz
Having extended his unbeaten run to six as a professional boxer, Paul earned some level of the street cred he was looking for. He has previously talked about the beef he has with Diaz and expressed his willingness to compete against him, although it may be more difficult than perceived.
“We’ll see. I’m sure there’s a lot of names. I haven’t gone on Twitter yet. You have to look at everything and all the callouts but I’m sure there’s gonna be a lot. It’s back to the drawing board,” Paul told reporters at the post-fight press conference. “We’ll see who it is but Nate Diaz was here acting like a b**ch.”
“Everyone wants that [Diaz] fight, he was trying to fight people in the hallway,” Paul added. “‘Nate, stop fighting people for free, let’s do it in the ring. I know you’re a little slow, buddy, but it is okay, we can make that fight happen… It’s just who makes sense at the right time and who actually wants to do it, and who will actually show up and be a professional and make weight. But it is who I want.”
Paul Fired Back at Dana White
UFC president Dana White claimed that Paul would never accept a fight with ‘The Spider’ arguing he only wanted easy outings. Paul hit back at White for doubting him following the biggest win of his career.
“Dana? Dana? Dana? “Bro, you said I wouldn’t do this, and I did it and with flying colors,” Paul said. “He’s in hiding. He’s trying to do everything he can to stop my run, to sabotage my fights. He hates me. He hates what I’m doing. He hates that I’m exposing his business. Now we’re going to band together and create a united fighters’ association to help all MMA fighters and boxers to get more fighter pay, long-term healthcare.
“That’s a big, big undertaking that I’ve been wanting to do for the whole entire time of my career since I first met [my business partner] Nakisa [Bidarian]. I said that to him on the first day. I want to make a fighters’ union. So Dana White can suck this d***.”
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Jake Paul Responds to Nate Diaz on Backstage Altercation After Win Over UFC Icon