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Jake Paul proves too strong as he takes down Nate Diaz in 10-round war

YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul has put a gargantuan sum of money on the table after brutalising a UFC icon in stunning fashion.

8 min read
August 6, 2023 - 5:17PM
Jake Paul gestures to the audience during weigh-ins before his fight against Nate Diaz at American Airlines Center on August 04, 2023 in Dallas, Texas. Sam Hodde/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Sam Hodde / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Jake Paul gestures to the audience during weigh-ins before his fight against Nate Diaz at American Airlines Center on August 04, 2023 in Dallas, Texas. Sam Hodde/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Sam Hodde / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Jake Paul has returned to the winners list after getting the better of UFC icon Nate Diaz on Sunday afternoon.

Paul entered the bout as the heavy favourite and landed the far more telling blows of the fight as the judges handed him the win via unanimous decision (97-92, 98-91 x2)

BOXING | SUN AUG 6: The Problem Child’ Jake Paul and UFC icon Nate Diaz will finally meet in a highly anticipated grudge match. ORDER ON MAIN EVENT ON KAYO SPORTS >

Paul knocked his rival to the canvas with a powerful left hook in the fifth round and won almost every round as he bounced back after his first defeat in the ring at the hands of Tommy Fury in February.

“He’s tough. He’s real tough. That’s what he’s known for. But ‘tough’ in this sport doesn’t work,” Paul said before taunting the crowd by saying “boo if you’re a virgin.”

“I knocked him down basically every round. He might’ve won one round. he’s a warrior.

“All credit to my team. Going 10 rounds in my eighth fight, it’s unheard of. But I want to run it back in MMA.

“$10 million, that’s the offer.

“Let’s run it back in MMA. Let’s do it.”

Diaz showered his rival with praise as the two men showed plenty of respect for one another with Paul also calling out a potential rematch with Fury.

“He’s tough. I wish I could’ve done better. It’s all good. He won this one. I’ll fight anybody. I don’t give a f**k,” Diaz said.

Paul lands a hard left hand. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
Paul lands a hard left hand. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)

Round 10 - Jake Paul again leading the way

It wasn’t the knockout finish he would have been hoping for, but Jake Paul has returned to the winners list after taking down the MMA legend Nate Diaz.

Diaz wasn’t impressed with what he had seen from the YouTuber and waved him to bring it on as the crowd rose to their feet.

The power from Paul wasn’t enough to affect Diaz as he just kept on walking his shots down and saluting the crowd before the final bell rang out.

Round 9 - Diaz trolling as Paul dances

Nate Diaz is walking around the ring, turning his back on his rival and just walking straight at him.

The tactic however isn’t paying off as Jake Paul just picks him off with shots to the body and some in close shots.

Diaz finished with a final minute flurry, but he needs a final round knockout if he’s going to have his hand raised.

Round 8 - Jake Paul still on top ... just

The YouTuber is landing the more powerful shots, but Nate Diaz is just walking his rival down.

Diaz is showing why he’s one of the toughest guys on the planet as he refuses to give Paul a second to catch his breath.

The MMA star landed some heavy shots of his own and won that round comfortably.

Round 7 - Paul pours it on but Diaz not going away

Same as we’ve seen throughout the majority of the fight, Jake Paul comes out hot and lands some telling shots but Nate Diaz just walks through them.

In the latter stages of the round Diaz returns the favour as he chops away with a flurry of punches that don’t really have any power behind them.

Round 6 - Diaz survives a more even round after hitting the canvas

One thing you can’t question is 38-year-old Diaz’s tank.

He looked finished after that left hook sent him to the canvas, but he managed to get back on his feet and then survive the sixth round.

The crowd is getting more than most of them would have bargained for here.

Round 5 - Paul puts Diaz on floor with massive left hook, Diaz perseveres

Paul has responded emphatically to Diaz’s control of the last three rounds, landing a massive left hook that sent Diaz stumbling back against the ropes and to the floor.

He got back up in time for the count, but was markedly wobbly before collecting himself to throw a flurry of short jabs to finish the round.

Round 4 - Diaz lands volume of jabs

Diaz has begun to land a higher volume of smaller hits, putting his professionalism to use, and finishes the fourth in firm control of the fight.

Round 3 - Paul puts away the right hand

Paul’s prediction of an early finish has turned out wrong, with Diaz slowly coming back and forcing Paul to put away his favoured right jab for a big telegraphed left hook.

Round 2 - Diaz struggles early, works into fight

Diaz started out the second round struggling with Paul’s power, but has worked his way into the fight with some uppercut combinations.

Jake sticks his tongue out and tries to goad Diaz, but the veteran is working his way into the fight.

Round 1 - Paul rocks Diaz with huge haymakers

Jake Paul has landed some huge early hits, with Diaz’s defences lacking early.

A big early left hook and hard right hand saw Diaz unsteady early, and late in the round resorting to grappling to avoid the brunt of Paul’s blows.

2.20pm - Paul met by chorus of boos, Diaz enjoys home crowd

Jake Paul has walked out at the American Airlines Center to a chorus of boos, soundtracked by Lil Durk and J.Cole’s “All My Life”.

Paul said the song represents the doubters he’s had throughout his life.

“All my life people have been trying to doubt me, all my life people have been trying to hold me back, saying I can’t do stuff,” Paul said.

Diaz, conversely, walked out to raucous cheers, soundtracked by Eminem and 50 Cent’s “Till I Collapse”.

2.10pm - Paul predicts an early finish

Jake Paul has had his last pre-fight interview ahead of the walkout, saying he’s focused on having fun.

“We’re just having fun,” Paul said.

“Full of joy right now, full of love and light.”

Paul was uplifted by the presence of brother Logan, and predicted an early conclusion to the fight.

“All this is surreal - this is my night, and Logan’s here to join along with me.

“Just having fun out there, that’s what I’m focused on tonight.

“Yeah, early (finish. Earlybird gets the worm. Yeah, 100%, I’m feeling it, I’m feeling electric, I’m feeling strong, he’s going to run into some shit.”

12.40pm - Jake Paul arrives in tank

Jake Paul outdid himself on Sunday by arriving at the Dallas stadium in a khaki tank.

The DAZN commentary crew was stunned as the YouTuber made a rock star arrival.

His fancy arrival came just minutes before Nate Diaz made a nonplussed arrival with a hooded top that covered his face.

Jake Paul arriving in his chariot. Photo: Instagram, @jakepaul.
Jake Paul arriving in his chariot. Photo: Instagram, @jakepaul.
Jake Paul didn't even grin. Photo: Instagram, jakepaul.
Jake Paul didn't even grin. Photo: Instagram, jakepaul.

“This is insane,” DAZN TV commentator Barak Bess said.

“Never before has a boxer arrived in a tank. I’ve seen helicopters, limos, flying carpets. But I haven’t seen that.”

10am - Paul staring retirement in the face

Jake Paul’s manager says the social media sensation will likely announce his retirement from boxing if beaten by Nate Diaz.

Paul is already coming off his first career defeat at the hands of Tommy Fury in February.

Paul’s agent, Nakisa Bidarian, has told ESPN: “He may retire if he loses to Nate Diaz.

“His boxing career is on the line, in terms of being one of the top three or four guys in the entire sport globally. I think if he was to lose, he’d just go to being another prospect that’s coming up in the ring.”

7am - Drake’s insane bet against Jake Paul

Drake is not going to make the same mistake twice.

The rapper didn’t cash in on a $400,0000 wager on Paul to knock out Tommy Fury in February, as Fury ended up winning by split decision.

This time around, Drake isn’t even betting on Paul to win his next fight – placing Nate Diaz straight in the crosshairs of the “Drake Curse” as the rapper has compiled a long history of losing big bets on some of sports’ most significant events, The New York Post reports.

He revealed Saturday on his Instagram story that he wagered $250K in order to win $1 million on Nate Diaz to beat the YouTube-star-turned boxer.

“Jake is a dog but I can never bet against a Diaz brother that’s just how I was raised,” is how Drake explained why he bet against Paul this time.

And it didn’t take long for Paul to get wind of the Canadian’s stunning wager, which the rapper shared on his Instagram page.

Jake Paul's final post said it all. Photo: Instagram, Jake Paul.
Jake Paul's final post said it all. Photo: Instagram, Jake Paul.

Along with a mock-up poster of himself holding Diaz’s severed and bruised head, Paul wrote: “Drake losing his bet”.

Paul had laughed off the money Drake lost over his February wager.

“F***. This is Drake’s fault,” Paul said.

“Drake, bro, why did you do this to me.”

Paul, Diaz trade blows at weigh in

There was a brief moment during the weigh-ins where it seemed like the warring fighters may have been about to show respect to each other — then that all quickly changed when Nate Diaz started to taunt his rival.

The duo haven’t held back in the lead-up to their Texas grudge match, which will be ten rounds at 185 pounds.

Diaz gave just as good as he got in the war of words that came after they’d stepped on the scales.

Nate Diaz lunges at Jake Paul during weigh-ins. Photo by Sam Hodde / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP.
Nate Diaz lunges at Jake Paul during weigh-ins. Photo by Sam Hodde / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP.

“No matter how the fight goes, let’s not forget – this motherf***er can’t really fight. This motherf***er,” he said.

On the scales, Paul slapped his chest, made a throat-slitting emoji, and roared: “Let’s f***ing go!”

But he wasn’t happy at the crowd favouring his rival, saying: “Boo yourself, virgins. Boo if you’re a virgin.” As they continued, he added: “Oh you guys are virgins? Oh, s**t.”

Final press conference ends in anarchy

Jake Paul claimed a member of his entourage was assaulted during the crazy scenes that ended the final press event before Sunday’s fight.

Paul was posing on stage after the media formalities when rival security guards started to push and shove on stage.

Some punches were thrown while others tried to quell the situation.

Paul took to Twitter afterwards to say Diaz’s team was claiming an assault took place.

“Nate’s team has emailed my team trying to claim assault after his team swung first,” he wrote on Twitter.

“Apparently the guy who swung first is at the hospital getting stitches. Hilarious these fake gangsters acting like this!”

Main Card On pay per view

185lbs.: Jake Paul (185) vs. Nate Diaz (184.9)

126lbs.: Amanda Serrano (124.6) vs. Heather Hardy (125.8)

168lbs.: Chris Avila (170.3*) vs. Jeremy Stephens (167)

135lbs.: Ashton Sylve (134.5) vs. William Silva (134.6)

168lbs.: Shadasia Green (166.9) vs. Olivia Curry (166.7)

147lbs.: Alan Sanchez (147) vs. Angel Beltran (144.4)

Originally published as Jake Paul proves too strong as he takes down Nate Diaz in 10-round war

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