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Jake Shields Explains Why Nate Diaz Rejected Jake Paul Fight

Published 12/25/2021, 1:30 PM EST

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Jake Paul has called out Nate Diaz multiple times for a boxing match. However, Diaz is not interested in taking up Paul’s offer and only wants to fight top fighters.

Stockton’s own has only one fight left on his contract and there was speculation that he would switch over to boxing once his contract finishes. There were rumors of him taking on Jake Paul in his first fight, but that has not turned out to be true. Diaz was recently seen at Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley 2 with Jake Shields, supporting Chris Avila in his bout against Anthony Taylor.

In a recent interview with Helen Yee Sports, Shields revealed the reason why Nate Diaz rejected the Jake Paul fight. He said, “I don’t know. I mean, Nate likes money, so you never know, but I think he feels like Jake Paul is not on his level. So it’s kind of a joke to be calling him out. I’m sure there’s a payday that might get him interested. But as far as him looking to fight Paul, that’s kind of a joke. He’s looking to fight top 5 fighters.”

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“I know Nate wants that fight. Like I said, he wants a top-five opponent, but the UFC don’t want to give him a top-five opponent. They’re trying to give him guys that aren’t names because they don’t want him to leave the UFC with a huge win like that. Hopefully, they will come to some terms. The fans want it, Nate wants it, Poirier wants it, I mean I want it. I think everyone wants to see that fight.”

Nate Diaz loves the UFC

Over the years, Nate Diaz and the UFC, have had a strange relationship. There has been a rift between Dana White and Diaz in the past and right now, Diaz has only one fight left in his contract. In the UFC Vegas 41 post-fight press conference, White confirmed that he has only one fight left in his contract, and they’re working on a fight for him.

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However, there have been names linked to a fight with him, but nothing has materialized. There have been talks about him re-signing with the promotion and Jake Shields shed some light on that.

When asked if he will indeed re-sign, he said, “I know Nate loves the UFC, he wants to be a part of it. I don’t think they necessarily treat him that well. He wants to be treated with respect. So, I would love it if they could go and come to terms with Nate. But it just seems like they have a reason to try and kind of mess with him, instead of sitting down and talking to him like a man.”

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Who would you like to see Nate Diaz fight in his last UFC bout? Should he box Jake Paul? Let us know in the comments!

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Written by:

Arunaditya Aima

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Arunaditya is a UFC writer at EssentiallySports. Having completed his Post Graduate Diploma in Multimedia Journalism from IIJNM, Arunaditya aspires to be an important voice in the world of MMA and interview the likes of Jon Jones, Conor McGregor, Amanda Nunes, and other such superstars of the sport. He has followed the sport for over a decade and is an ardent fan of Georges St-Pierre, who he believes is the greatest of all time.
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