Getty UFC President Dana White (C) separates Nate Diaz (L) and UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor (R) as they face off during their weigh-in for UFC 202.
YouTube star Jake Paul has rapidly become one of the biggest names in combat sports and has drawn the attention of UFC superstars Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz.
Paul, who is 2-0 as a boxer, challenged McGregor to a boxing match after his knockout of NBA point guard Nate Robinson in November. Paul said that he offered “Notorious” $50 million to box, and during the viral video, slammed multiple people, including McGregor’s wife Dee Devlin.
At the time of Paul’s savage viral challenge, McGregor was preparing for his UFC 257 bout for Dustin Poirier and did not immediately respond to “The Problem Child.”
One fighter who did respond was McGregor’s longtime rival, Nate Diaz. Diaz took to social media to slam Paul, which led to the stars going back and forth on social media.
In a recent interview with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, Diaz was asked about his feud with Paul. He said that he got involved because the YouTuber was specifically talking about McGregor.
He said via The Sun:
[Paul] was just talking some serious fighting words to – he was talking to Conor, right? But when I said something, it was because he was talking about Conor. I was like, ‘Oh, they’re some real fighting words for a guy who has already signed to fight in a real fight and you’re challenging him to a boxing match with fighting words.’ And no one is gonna speak up, no one did. And even Conor probably didn’t want to give him no clout, he’s tuned in to what he’s doing. I was like, ‘Someone needs to tell this guy to shut up.’
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Diaz Said Boxing Is Just a ‘Piece of Fighting,’ Warns Paul
GettyJake Paul (L) celebrates with his brother, Logan, after defeating AnEsonGib in a first round knockout during their fight at Meridian at Island Gardens on January 30, 2020, in Miami, Florida.
During the interview, Diaz said that if Paul continued to talk the way that he does to fighters, someone is “going to f***” him up.
“I wasn’t trying to have nobody’s back, but just from a real motherf***er’s perspective, it’s like, ‘You’re talking fighting words,'” Diaz continued. “It don’t make no sense when people do that. It’s like talking like that and challenging somebody to a boxing match, you know?”
“Boxing is just boxing, it’s only a piece of a fight,” Diaz continued. “And you’re talking like dirty s***. So it’s like, ‘Someone’s going to f*** you up if you don’t watch it.'”
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A Fight With Paul Is Not on McGregor’s Radar Right Now
McGregor finally responded to Paul’s challenge a few days before his bout with Poirier, saying that a boxing match with Paul wasn’t on his radar.
“We’ll see what happens. … He seems like a confused little kid to me, to be honest,” McGregor told BT Sport. “I don’t know what’ll happen. It’s not on the radar at the minute with the young lad. I know, I have a teammate Dylan — him and Dylan have been back-and-forth, so you never know.”
McGregor fought Poirier on January 23 and lost via second-round TKO. He has expressed interest in rematching either Poirier or Diaz for his next fight.
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