4 Best Opponents for Jake Paul After Win vs. Nate Diaz
Jake Paul is back to his winning ways.
The social media agitator triumphed in his first six forays into professional boxing before the momentum was stopped by a split-decision loss to Tommy Fury in February.
The defeat came in Paul's first bout against even a middling-level boxer, so he wisely returned to what had been a successful competitive recipe by plucking high-profile bad boy Nate Diaz off the UFC scrap heap for a 10-rounder atop a pay-per-view show in Dallas.
Paul earned a wide scorecard win in the main event on Saturday night at the American Airlines Center, going the full 30-minute distance for the first time while dropping Diaz once and hurting him several other times and running his record to 7-1.
The win reignited enthusiasm about the "Problem Child's" burgeoning career and set fans and media members to ponder his next move. The B/R combat team got itself in on the act as well and compiled a list of possible foes that'd fit the bill for a spotlight showdown.
Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought of your own in the comments.
Nate Diaz MMA Rematch
1 of 4
If you take them at their word, this one is next.
An MMA rematch between Paul and Diaz was suggested during Paul's post-fight interview, and both he and Diaz gave a conditional thumbs-up to the concept—pending specifics on which specific entities would be involved in the staging and promotion of the event.
Paul has a relationship with the Professional Fighters League and said a $10 million offer is on the table for him and Diaz to get together under that organization's MMA auspices.
"I wanna run it back in MMA. 10 million is the offer in the PFL," he said as Diaz stood alongside and nodded. "I won one, now it's your chance in your home territory. Let's do it."
The PFL has positioned itself as an up-and-coming alternative to the UFC and it recently signed its rival's ex-heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou, who'd long campaigned for an opportunity to cross over into boxing.
Ngannou will face boxing kingpin Tyson Fury later this year in Saudi Arabia and it'd be quite a coup if the PFL could find itself in a deal that delivers Paul and Diaz in a cage.
Stay tuned.
Nick Diaz in a Boxing Ring
2 of 4
It was, as the kids say, cringy.
Nick Diaz is the older of the popular MMA brothers and undeniably among the OGs of the UFC, but the reality these days is that he's not won a fight in 12 years—going 0-3 with a no contest to wrap up a professional career that began in 2001.
So the idea of him even suggesting a return to an environment where he can be struck in the head, let alone actually doing it, is difficult to fathom.
But there he was on Saturday, three nights past his 40th birthday, suggesting that he's ready, willing and able to break off a piece of the action with Paul.
It was difficult to understand him as he chatted with Dan Hardy and Ariel Helwani at the tail end of the PPV broadcast, and it's difficult to imagine him faring any better in the ring with Paul than little brother Nate did—which equates to getting punched 174 times, knocked down once and driven to the brink of knockdowns on one or two other occasions.
But while the skillset may have faded, the instinct hasn't.
"I think (Nate) needs a little more work, but let's cut to the chase," Nick Diaz said. "I'm a lot better than both of these guys that are out there. I'd love to entertain the idea of moving on to whoever they've got for me. If they want to do Round 2, if he ain't going to do it, I'll take it. He's got an older brother, too. Don't forget about the one and only."
Sequel with Tommy Fury
3 of 4
If he's as competitive as claims he is, this may be the path Paul takes.
The Ohioan was basking in the unbeaten spotlight before stepping in with Tommy Fury, the younger half-brother of Tyson Fury, last winter in Saudi Arabia.
The younger Fury was also unbeaten in the ring and had faced actual boxing opponents, but hadn't displayed the sort of acumen that made it seem he'd be overwhelming to Paul.
Yet when they got together, it was far more clinical in Fury's favor for the majority of an eight-round bout that ended with him getting three-point verdicts from two of three judges—which translated to a 6-2 edge in rounds.
Paul earned a one-point nod on the dissenting scorecard and insisted he'd done enough to deserve the victory, and he mentioned Fury's name Saturday as one of the options he could take in the aftermath of the Diaz fight.
Fury will return to the ring on Oct. 14 against U.K.-based YouTuber KSI and a victory there will no doubt rekindle both the rivalry and the trash talk in both directions.
"If it was man for man, when (Fury) was down on the canvas, I would've gotten on top of him and beat the s--- out of him in a street fight," Paul told Fox News Digital.
"He's still my son. He was the one saying that I was gonna go to the canvas, all of these things, but if we were in an alleyway, he would be dead right now."
The 'Notorious' Holy Grail
4 of 4
Let's face it, folks. If you're in the combat-sports business and you're looking to cash the biggest paycheck, you plant yourself at the doorstep of the biggest persona and wait.
For Paul, that means one guy and one guy only: Conor McGregor.
Though he's not held a UFC belt in nearly seven years and not won a sanctioned fight of any kind in more than three, the fiery Irishman remains the most recognizable star in the MMA galaxy thanks both to a dynamic skillset and a penchant for controversy.
He's headlined eight UFC shows that generated at least a million PPV buys and rode shotgun to Floyd Mayweather Jr. for a boxing show that drew more than four million in the U.S. and another million-plus in the U.K.
And even though it's been a while since he's been successful, he's still a brand. And when placed alongside Paul on a press conference stage, he's still money in the bank.
Glove them up. Walk them to the ring. Then stand by for mayhem.
Because there's no more lucrative foe out there. Heck, the war of words is well underway.
"I don't know how serious he's taking fighting at all, and I don't know how serious the fight world is taking him," Paul said during the Diaz fight week.
"Who knows if he still has that same appeal? But look, I always said I'd fight him. I'm down. It's a big, massive event. He obviously has to ask his boss Dana, if he can do that. I'm my own boss. I make my own decisions. I could fight whoever, whenever, wherever."
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
