Who is Nate Díaz, Jake Paul’s opponent in his next fight?

The latest news on Jake Paul’s next fight is here. The “Problem Child” will step into the ring on Saturday night, facing off against one of the most popular fighters in UFC history, who will be making his professional boxing debut.

Nate Diaz has an extensive fighting background but has yet to compete in a boxing-only bout. As we’ve seen in previous fights with Paul’s opponents like Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley, and Anderson Silva, the transition to boxing can be challenging. Paul has had an advantage due to his focused boxing training. Diaz will need to rely on his aggression and toughness to secure a win in August. Let’s get to know more about the 38-year-old American.

Related: When and where is the Jake Paul vs Nate Díaz fight?

More about Nate Díaz

Diaz is a renowned mixed martial artist with an impressive UFC career of over 15 years, having won The Ultimate Fighter 5. He also competed in WEC, Strikeforce, and Pancrase. Diaz holds the third-highest UFC bonus awards, with 16 in total.

Raised in Stockton, California, Diaz has both Mexican and Anglo heritage. Before his official MMA career, he had a bare-knuckle MMA fight at 17, and footage suggests it was his first competitive experience.

In his early career, Diaz fought mainly for WEC, where he contended for the WEC Lightweight Championship but lost to Hermes França by submission in 2006. Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of UFC, later acquired WEC.

Diaz not buying any of Paul’s trash talk

Diaz has been quiet on the trash talk and social media, leading Paul to complain about his lack of engagement and worry about PPV buys.

“That’s what I wanted – that’s why I signed up for this – is to give the people a show and to squash this beef,” Paul previously complained... “But he’s pretty much rolled over like a b—ch and has been quite boring, which pisses me off. But I’m used to carrying these promotions. It’s no different in this one.”

Paul shouldn’t be surprised by Diaz’s behavior; it’s part of his trademark antics. Diaz marches to his own beat and won’t play ball just because a promoter wants him to.

“That’s his problem,” Diaz previously said about Paul’s comments. “I think my fighting from over the years promotes my fights, and I’m not gonna get into a little kid argument with the guy and act like it isn’t realer than it is.

“I don’t talk a bunch of s—t like he wants to do, I don’t want to see him talk s—t and go back and forth.”

Paul hinted at entering the cage after signing with PFL, and offered a $10 million challenge to fight Diaz in that setting. Nate’s response: “I don’t fight for that organization,” he said when asked about Paul’s offer. “If we do something, we’re going to do something real. Co-promotion, if anything.”

Diaz: “Don’t watch”

“I don’t care,” Diaz said. “I’m in an important point of my career where it’s like, I’m not trying to scare anybody, I’m not trying to fool anybody. If people want to watch, that’d be great. If they don’t, that’s fine too.

“That’s where [Paul] got me twisted. I’m not in a gimmick fight with him. Man, I only need him to know that I’ll whoop his ass. I don’t need the whole world. I don’t need to go begging for people to watch. Don’t watch.”

Despite not having a share in PPV revenue, Diaz doesn’t prioritize promoting events and remains indifferent about media obligations, which ironically still draws attention and headlines like this article I’m writing.