‘It’s easier to fight boxing than a real fight’: Everything Nate Diaz said post-fight
Nate Diaz gave Jake Paul some credit, but said he’d be easy to beat in MMA.
Nate Diaz’s pro boxing debut didn’t go how he would have hoped, as he lost a clear 10-round decision to Jake Paul in front of a loud, wildly pro-Diaz crowd in Dallas.
And despite the animosity in the build-up, Diaz did give Paul (7-1, 4 KO) some praise, particularly for the knockdown shot in round five.
“Yeah, I didn’t see it coming. I thought, ‘That motherfucker.’ Hop up and recover a little knew,” he said at the post-fight presser. “I knew what I was coming for, coming for a fight with a big, strong, motivated, pumped up, ‘gotta take over the world’ (guy). Nothing surprises me in this shit.”
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Asked how Paul “felt physically” in the ring, Diaz smiled and replied, “Easy to take down, easy to choke,” but after a little laugh at that, he continued: “Nah, he did a good job. He’s a fuckin’ athletic, strong dude, and he hits hard and fast, but it ain’t nothin’ I ain’t seen before.”
Diaz also happily admitted grabbing a little guillotine choke on Paul in round nine, which Paul had previously said in his portion of the press conference was locked in for real.
“Yeah, that was too easy. And the takedown was too easy, too,” Diaz said. “I just got the punch and his whole leg was in my chest. I try to take people down in MMA, they smash my head and fuck me up and I get tired and all kinds of shit. It’s easier to fight boxing than a real fight.”
Everything Nate Diaz said at the post-fight presser
On anything Jake surprised him with
“Nothing. I got hit with a couple of shots I didn’t fuckin’ see and that fuckin’ pissed me off, but I wasn’t surprised. I expect that with everybody.”
On the decision to take a 10-round fight
“I’m not full of shit at all. Like, if you could fight 10 rounds or three, what would you rather do? I’d rather have three rounds, I’m tired just thinking about (10). But I’ve always felt like, no matter how many rounds my fight goes, if it didn’t go my way, I know if it would have gone longer, I could have won.”
On whether he could have won more rounds with less clowning
“Yeah, woulda-coulda-shoulda.”
On whether he hurt Paul
“I think I get hit him with some good stuff, I had some good combos and some good shit, but I think I could have done better. Like I said, woulda-coulda-shoulda.”
On the MMA rematch with Jake
“(Real Fight Inc.) is gonna do a show, we have plans to do some stuff. We’re gonna go home and talk about it, figure out what it is we wanna do, MMA or boxing, then see what they (Team Paul) want to do. They said they want to do the PFL thing, and I think if we wanna do that, we’re gonna have to co-promote and do Real Fight vs PFL. My goal is to get a rematch.”
On getting a guillotine on Paul
“Oh, (I was thinking) done deal. In a real fight, this fight’s over, and we’re sitting here with a win. But we were participating in a boxing match. It was a good time. I was curious, too, I was, like, ‘I’m gonna get in a boxing ring’ — I know what I think and I’ve trained my whole career boxing with pro boxers on the highest level, highest I could get, and I’ve done really well. I’ve never fought in a pro fight, so I think I’ll whoop all these motherfuckers’ asses. That’s just what I think. Let’s go in there and get a feel for it. It felt just like what I imagined.
“What was the question? Yeah, I’ll fuck up everybody. Oh, the guillotine? Yeah, that was too easy. And the takedown was too easy, too. I just got the punch and his whole leg was in my chest. I try to take people down in MMA, they smash my head and fuck me up and I get tired and all kinds of shit. It’s easier to fight boxing than a real fight.”
On what he learned on the promotional side
“I learned a lot, and I watched a lot happen, and I know exactly what I’m gonna do next. I seen all of it done more than anybody. I know exactly what’s going on here, what’s the pros and cons after this week. I think it was a good experience. It’s like training with somebody learning how to defend the choke or something because you got fucked up — ‘Ah, we fucked up here, and there...’
“They had their criticism on how I’m doing my promoting on my side, but every UFC or any big show that I’ve fought in, they turned out to be the biggest shows, because I was doing what the fuck I do. Whatever the fuck I do, usually ends up being the highest gates and numbers and all kinds of shit. So I learned that, that I know what I’m talking about. Cocky ass motherfucker.”
On possibly continuing in boxing and who he might fight
“100 percent, yeah. Talking about experience that I just learned from fighting out there, I didn’t know if these were fuckin’ little ass the size of MMA gloves — I didn’t even get cut tonight. I get cut in every MMA fight I fight.”
“I have nobody (in mind) now. I’m sure I’m gonna go home and hear criticism and see all kinds of shit. Next week, get back to me, I’m sure I’ll have a list of motherfuckers’ asses to whip.”
On how Jake “felt physically”
“Easy to take down, easy to choke. (laugh) Nah, he did a good job. He’s a fuckin’ athletic, strong dude, and he hits hard and fast, but it ain’t nothin’ I ain’t seen before.”
On noticing any difference between the gloves
“It just felt like sparring. Obviously, the gloves are smaller (than sparring gloves), but way different and bigger than MMA. I don’t like MMA gloves, either, though, ‘cause I can’t land as good a punch, and it doesn’t feel as good to land punches. I like the 8 oz gloves.”
On the MMA fight with Jake
“I would fight him. It’s easy to take him down and easy to choke him. He was talking about his wrestling credentials the other day, and I was, like, ‘What?’ (laughing) ... I’m not cut, (so) two or three months, I’m ready to rock. After MMA fights, I’m cut to shit, my legs hurt and I can’t walk. It feels good to be OK.”
On talking to Jake during the fight
“I was just making fun of him. Telling him to do more shit.”
On fighting at 185 lbs
“Going up to this weight, I would have liked to have trained like I do when I’m smaller. But I was kinda concerned with getting bigger and shit. I didn’t think he was much bigger than me. I thought he was bigger than that (when I) was training for the fight.”
On what he could have done differently
“I should have been throwing punches, keeping him on the outside. I’m not trying to make excuses, but about a month back I was trying to stay big, and I hurt my arm a little bit. Wear and tear on my right arm if I was jabbing or doing a lot of stuff, so I’d get excited and fight like a Mexican guy, smother their punches and get in there and make every sparring session a brawl. I did that through camp, and that’s how the fight went, and I think I should have kept on the outside, circled, and did better stuff. But it’s all good. There’s no way I’m not gonna show up for a fight because of something like that, too. You gotta go regardless, no matter what.”
On whether he thought he won
“No, I didn’t think I won. I knew he got the knockdown and stuff. I thought I won a good amount of rounds, but I gotta watch the fight. I know what I think.”
On the MMA fight actually happening
“We’re gonna see what happens, see if he really wants to do that.”
On whether Jake Paul can “really fight”
“I’m not trying to fuckin’ talk shit, he’s fuckin’ boxing high-level guys, MMA, he’s sparring good people, and then he starts talking shit to me during the camp. That comes with the territory, all is fair in love and war, I’m always about that. Say whatever you want, that’s fine. But then you start trying to make things personal, saying shit he shouldn’t be saying. Then it hurts peoples feelings when I say this ain’t a real fight?
“This is not a real fight to be talking to me like that, this is a boxing competition. That’s what I meant by ‘he can’t really fight.’ It’s not overly disrespectful, but if you can’t really fight, don’t be talking shit.”
On Conor McGregor’s Tweet
“Fuck that fool.”
On Drake betting $250,000 on Diaz to win
“Yeah, whatever, shoutout to Drake.”