Nate Diaz Eyes Jake Paul for Future Fight After Anderson Silva Matchup

Former UFC superstar Nate Diaz has a few options for his next move after becoming a free agent earlier this month, and it sounds like he already has something in mind.

Diaz told iD Boxing (h/t Amit Shukla of Thirsty For News) that he'd be interested in a boxing match against Jake Paul, who is scheduled to fight MMA legend Anderson Silva on Oct. 29:

"[Jake Paul] is for sure one of the options. He's doing big stuff. He's doing big things. He's got a big fight ahead of him. If he wins that, I'm sure people will be really impressed by it. And if Anderson [Silva] does his thing on him, that’s impressive also. Now we've got a fight on his hands. I'm looking forward to it."

Diaz is coming off a fourth-round submission victory over Tony Ferguson in the main event of UFC 279, which was the final fight on his contract. He has expressed his desire to explore his options outside of the company for quite some time:

"From 17 or 18 years old, I was starting to fight, I was boxing with my boxing coach. There were boxers all over my gym, and I was going to box initially, but MMA shows were more around my area, and they were happening, so I got stuck in MMA. I got stuck in a cage this whole time with contracts and stuff. Now everything is open for the taking. I never stopped training for a boxing fight since I started fighting. When the right opponent or right thing comes, we’re going to take it."

The 37-year-old also left the door open to returning to the UFC at some point in the future, but for now, it appears he's ready to test the waters in the world of boxing.