Nate Diaz will make his professional boxing debut against Jake Paul at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas this Saturday.
The UFC legend has built a fanbase with a no-nonsense attitude to fighting, an exceptional gas tank and extreme grit. That was all inside the octagon though, and so 6-1 Paul enters the ring as the betting favourite.
In preparation for the ten-rounder in Texas, Diaz got some rounds in with WBC super-lightweight champion, Regis Prograis.
The 140 pounder, whose only loss came at the hands of Josh Taylor via decision, praised the work rate of Diaz when speaking to MMA Fighting.
“He was super tough. I kind of knew that already. I knew Nate Diaz, I knew his reputation, so I knew he was going to be real tough. That’s kind of what it was. We just went and locked horns and tried to kill each other.
“For sure [I was impressed]. I’ve sparred with a lot of MMA fighters, I spend a lot of time in Brazil, and their hands are just not that good. Nate Diaz’s hands were fairly OK.
He has a pretty decent standup game. It’s not on the level of a boxer, but for MMA, his hands are really good. That definitely surprised me, and he was just tough as nails. We definitely had a good sparring session.”
Despite the compliments, Prograis can’t see past the size difference when it comes down to the fight with Paul. Diaz competed at both 155 and 170lbs in the UFC, the latter being the weight he fought against Conor McGregor.
His fight this wekeend is set at a limit of 185lbs, one which both fighters made on the scales but gives a considerable advantage to the naturally bigger Paul.
Prograis makes that the influencing factor in his prediction.
“Size wise, Jake Paul is so much bigger. He’s naturally a 200 pound person. If they were the same size, even if Jake Paul had maybe 10 pounds on him, I would give it all to Nate Diaz. If they were the same size, I would give it to Nate Diaz but the size difference is huge. That’s a big, big difference.
So I would lean towards Jake Paul just because of the size. It’s really too big. If they were the same size, Nate Diaz all the way. I think Nate would probably stop him if they were the same size.”
Paul is looking to bounce back from a loss to Tommy Fury – the first professional boxer he faced. Should he fail to do so, a member of his promotion has said he may retire from the sport he has so brashly entered.