It seems that Nate Diaz wasn’t fully fit before to his bout with Jake Paul last month. The MMA icon seemed to have back pain in the weeks before the match.
In a highly anticipated showdown at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on August 5, Nate Diaz and Jake Paul finally settled their long-standing feud in a professional boxing contest named Ready 4 War. This rivalry had its roots in a clash between their teams before Paul’s face-off with Anderson Silva in October 2022.
Despite moments of brilliance from Nate Diaz during the intense 10-round bout, Jake Paul emerged victorious with a unanimous decision. But recent revelations shed light that Diaz’s performance may have been hampered by an injury.
MMA veteran Quinton Jackson disclosed on the Fade On Site podcast that Diaz confided in him about a pinched nerve in his back prior to the Diaz-Paul match. Jackson shared: “He just didn’t look like himself. I went to his locker room later, I don’t know if he said that in the press, but he was injured. He had a pulled muscle in his back. I said, ‘Man, what’s wrong with you?’ because one of his pecs was smaller than the other. He’s like, ‘I got a pinched nerve in my back.”
Jake Paul’s desire to face Nate Diaz in the cage has been well-documented. Upon signing with the PFL, Paul wasted no time in extending a challenge to Diaz for a two-match deal. He wanted Diaz as his first MMA opponent post-boxing.
Surprisingly after the boxing match, Diaz and Paul appeared to be on friendly terms and even discussed the prospect of an MMA rematch. Regrettably, Paul recently asserted that Diaz rejected a substantial $10 million offer for an MMA rematch.
In an interview with TMZ Sports, Paul expressed his disappointment and said: “We’re at the drawing board right now. Nate Diaz ducked the $10 million offer, so he’s not the badass that everyone said he was… MMA fighters have gone over to boxing, but I want to go over to MMA, and Nate Diaz ducked the offer… I think it was just something that he realized there’s a lot of risk for him.”