Coming off of his first career loss, Jake Paul rebounded in a thrilling matchup against Nate Diaz, coming away with a unanimous win.
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Diaz was the clear fan favorite as he walked out to the cheers of the nearly 19,000 fans in attendance. The American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas was filled with MMA superstars and "Diaz Army" supporters who came to see the UFC legend shut down the YouTube prizefighter.
In the opening round, Paul was a man on a mission as he came out and went in for the kill against Diaz. Paul landed some nice shots on the UFC icon, but the more experienced Diaz weathered the storm and made it through the first round. The story of the fight was mostly the same as Paul showcased his much improved boxing skills against the crafty Diaz, who was making his professional boxing debut.
Round 5 saw the only knockdown scored in the fight as Paul clipped Diaz with a left hook as he was coming in. Diaz dropped to the canvas, but immediately rose and started firing back. Diaz was making it a dog fight, and Paul was implementing what he had learning while training in the sport. Diaz continued to taunt and showboat against Paul and even went for a guillotine in Round 10 that had the crowd laughing and chanting. Paul couldn't crack the code on how to stop the unorthodox fighter, but the slug fest went the distance with scores of 98-91, 98-91 and 97-92 in favor of Paul.
Jake Paul's Post-Fight Comments Show Humility
Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images
"He's hard, very hard and that's why they know it," Paul said of Diaz following the fight. "I did everything I had to, I won every round, I threw him. All credit to my team for all the work. Beating someone I watched since I was a kid."
After the fight, Paul (who recently signed with PFL) expressed his desire to take on Diaz in Mixed Martial Arts bout.
"I want to run it back in MMA," Paul said according to CBS Sports. "$10 million in PFL, that's the offer. Let's run it back in MMA. Your territory, let's do it." Diaz was quick to accept the proposed rematch, saying his Real Fight Inc. promotion would need to be involved.
We will have to wait and see what's next for "The Problem Child," but this win didn't seem to impress the doubters. The Stockton kid suffered his first loss in boxing prior to this fight, but his stock didn't plummet.
MMA legend Conor McGregor wasn't impressed with the fight, leading some to suggest a potential matchup between the icon and Paul. However, a rematch in the Octagon between The Problem Child and Diaz is more likely in the near future.
