Nate Diaz eyes Jake Paul fight, credits him for achieving ‘big things’

Nate Diaz, a former UFC superstar, has a few alternatives for his next move now that he is a free agent, and it appears like he already has something in mind.

Although the whole list of potential suitors is unknown, Diaz recently showed interest in a boxing match with Paul, which he was unsure about prior to his fight on September 10 at UFC 279 in Las Vegas. After winning his final UFC fight, Diaz opened up a little bit more about his future while watching Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin 3 on Saturday in Las Vegas.

He told iD Boxing "[Jake Paul] is for sure one of the options. He's doing big stuff. He's doing big things. He's got a big fight ahead of him. If he wins that, I'm sure people will be really impressed by it. And if Anderson [Silva] does his thing on him, that’s impressive also. Now we've got a fight on his hands. I'm looking forward to it."

The last fight under his contract, Diaz's main-event submission victory over Tony Ferguson in the fourth round of UFC 279 was his most recent triumph. He has often indicated that he would like to consider his options beyond the company.

Paul, a 25-year-old professional boxer who has a perfect record, has long shown interest in facing Diaz. On October 29 in Glendale, Arizona, he will compete against Anderson Silva. The Spider (3-0), a former middleweight champion of the UFC is regarded as the greatest mixed martial artist of all time. It will be a tough fight for Jake Paul as Silva still has that boxing acumen which can trouble the ‘Problem Child’.

Whether it's Paul or someone else, Diaz said he'll end up in boxing. His passion for it precedes his career in mixed martial arts, which Diaz claimed was never his desire.

"From 17 or 18 years old, I was starting to fight, I was boxing with my boxing coach. There were boxers all over my gym, and I was going to box initially, but MMA shows were more around my area, and they were happening, so I got stuck in MMA. I got stuck in a cage this whole time with contracts and stuff. Now everything is open for the taking. I never stopped training for a boxing fight since I started fighting. When the right opponent or right thing comes, we’re going to take it."

The 37-year-old also left the possibility of joining the UFC open, but for the time being, it seems he's prepared to make his boxing debut.