MMA Fighting - Fighter vs. Writer: Gilbert Melendez Reacts to Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz, Promises Diaz ‘Destroys’ Him in a Rematch in MMA

Episode Date: August 8, 2023

This week on The Fighter vs. The Writer — Gilbert Melendez joins the show after sitting ringside to watch his longtime teammate Nate Diaz go to battle with Jake Paul in a 10-round boxing match this past weekend. While Diaz ultimately lost a unanimous decision, Melendez praises the ex-UFC fighter for his performance while revealing what went right, what went wrong and injury that actually changed the strategy in the fight against Paul. Melendez also addresses Paul’s challenge for a rematch against Diaz in MMA and how that just wouldn’t be a fair fight for the social influencer turned boxing. Melendez will also discuss Nick Diaz potentially returning for a boxing match of his own and the chances that “El Nino” puts on the gloves again for another fight in the future. All this and more on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer! Subscribe: Apple Podcasts Subscribe: Spotify Read More: MMA Fighting Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Support for this show comes from the Audible Original, the downloaded two. Ghosts in the Machine. The Earth only has a few days left. Rosco Cudullian and the rest of the Phoenix colony have to re-upload their minds into the quantum computer, but a new threat has arisen that could destroy their stored consciousness forever. Listen to Oscar winner Brendan Fraser reprise his role as Rosco Cudulian in this follow-up to the Audible Original Blockbuster. The Downloaded, it's a thought-provoking sci-fi journey where identity, memory, and morality collide. Robert J. Sawyer does it again with this much-anticipated sequel that leaves you asking,

What are you willing to lose to save the ones you love? The Downloaded 2, Ghosts in the Machine. Available now, only from Audible. Support for this show comes from the Audible original, The Downloaded 2. Ghosts in the Machine. The Earth only has a few days left. Rosco Cudullian and the rest of the Phoenix colony have to re-upload their minds into the quantum computer, but a new threat has arisen that could destroy their stored consciousness forever.

Listen to Oscar winner Brendan Fraser reprised his role as Rosco Cudulian in this follow-up to the Audible original blockbuster, the downloaded. It's a thought-provoking sci-fi journey where identity, memory, and morality collide. Robert J. Sawyer does it again with this much anticipated sequel that leaves you asking, what are you willing to lose to save the ones you love? The downloaded

two, ghosts in the machine. Available now, only from Audible. Podcast Network. Back to the Fighter versus the writer. I'm your host as always, Damon Martin. This week, I am super happy to welcome in one of my oldest friends

in the industry. He is also part of the scrap pack and, of course, part of Team Diaz. He was there. and center for Jake Paul versus Nate Diaz this past weekend. I couldn't think of a better person to have on the podcast of my old friend, Gilbert El Nino Melendez. Gilbert, how are you? I'm doing great, man.

Just here back at the gym, the El Mio Training Center, just working with my team. Got a lot of guys coming up, fights coming up, fresh back from Texas. Can't complain. Life is good. I appreciate you doing this as always. How is Texas? How did Texas treat you? Texas is great.

What a great state, man. welcoming people are always welcoming out there everyone was excited for the event the event was exciting it was hot as heck um but i thought it was an amazing event it was great to be there texas texas went well it's funny i actually i was actually i was actually i was remember i was actually i was carrie who i was talking to a couple months ago we got like we were in the middle of summer here in ohio but we got like a little bit of a cold snap and i was walking down the street i remember there was an event here in columbus years ago and i ran into you on the street and it was super cold and you wore like a lighter coat and I was like dude you were not prepared for

ohio weather because I remember what running into and you're like it's freaking cold out here and I was like yeah dude you didn't prepare for it was like March but I remember that story thinking about walking down the street and I was like I think this is the street I ran on to gilbert Melendez when it was really cold in Ohio and he did not pack for that trip I'll tell you what most my lessons in life have been trial and error right you know you go out there and you travel and you learn a lesson like that and you know you always remember to check the weather you know so most my learning in life has been a trial and error you know yeah absolutely absolutely so gail of course lots to talk about but let's get right into it jake paul nade d s really fun event really

fun card uh i thought overall was a good time obviously the crowd was way into it which i loved seeing you were there front and center and of course you're there for your boy nate dyes but How was the atmosphere being in the arena like actually seeing it? Because boy, I tell you what, on TV, it looked incredible. And boy, was that a pro Nate Diaz crowd. Absolutely, man. It was, it was a magical night, right? And, you know, I've been to UFC events and I felt the energy there.

You know, they always have that song by the Who. They have that feeling out there, it gets you charged up. That's a certain feeling. But this was something different, you know, this was something different. It stood alone. It was like, it was not just a martial arts crowd or an MMA crowd. It was like just the world was interested, right? Not just MMA.

The whole world wanted to see this fight. There's a whole new generation of kids who are into influencers and not trying to be actors, but being influencers. And there's a whole generation who want to become boxers because of J-Call. And then you have this whole MMA crowd who's loved Nate Diaz. And then you just have this whole, you know, Nate Diaz culture. that he's promoted. So just having like those two big A-list fighters come together

who bring more to the table than just martial arts, I mean, it just had a crazy energy. And yes, people were pro-Jake, I mean, pro-Nate, but there was a lot of people cheering Jake. So it was going back and forth and emotions were high out there, but it was an amazing event, and I was happy to be a part of it. And it wasn't only that main event, you know, it was the prelamps, right?

the boys in the prelim started off Luciano Jose. I mean, they just stepped on the gas pedal and set the temple. You're like, man, these Dias and NDA team, they're in shape and they're pushing it. And every guy pushed it. Alan did it. And then Chris Abil did it against Jeremy Stevens. And we just saw, okay, there's going to be a great main event tonight. The ladies did a great job too.

So like I said, man, the energy was high. Every fight was good. It was a great night. We already knew. I mean, if there was any doubt about it, We already knew that Nate Diaz was a superstar, but if there was any proof of it, it was this past weekend. Because, of course, you always wonder, listen, when a guy comes up in the UFC, we can't deny the UFC as a machine, right? Like, it's a massive machine, and they make a lot of stars.

And listen, the UFC is the biggest show in town, no doubt about it. But I think we saw on Saturday night that Nate Diaz draws a crowd whether he's in the UFC or not. And I loved seeing that, and that's not a knock on the UFC. but I just think we saw the drawing power of Nate Diaz with that. Because you're always got to be a little curious, right? When you don't have the U.S. behind you, how's it going to look? How's it going to feel?

I think we saw on Saturday night, Nate Diaz is absolutely one of the biggest stars in our sport. No kidding. And not just in our sport. Like I said, he's no longer just someone else. He's mainstream. He's an aless celebrity. When you're like, do you know fighting? No.

Do you know someone so fighter? Do you know Nate? Oh, I know that Nate Diaz guy. You know, that's, that's it. That's what we're at now with this sport. It's no longer MMA fans. It's, we got, we got, we got Zuckerberg and Elon training, you know, and, you know, people know a few names.

Like, I'm not the best basketball fan, but if you ask me, I'm saying, oh, Michael, Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and, you know, Draymond Green, you know, Steph Curry, because I'm here in the Bay. But I can go no further than that. And that's who Nate Diaz is now. He's not only the MMA star guy. He's just the star. He's the star.

He's the star. fighter. He's a person. He has a personality. He's inspired a whole culture, a whole new generation of people to be proud, to be real, to be authentic, to stand up for what's what they believe is right and to always stick to their guns and to have guts to take risk, you know, and take, you know, and take everything life as a win, as a challenge and, and just like stepping into the fire and people respect that and love that. And again, he's huge. He's an A-List celebrity now, no denying it. Absolutely. There's few.

you people in this world who probably know Nate Diaz better than you you know I always think of the the four the you know the the four horsemen so to speak with you Jake Nate Nick you know that was the old school you know Caesar Gracie team back in the day that was the scrap act that was you guys literally grown up so you've known Nate basically since he was a

teenager you know you've known him his entire career so obviously you know what kind of fighters you were around during those days we always heard those stories about sparring with Andre Ward and all these stories back in the day So you knew more about Nate going into this fight than anybody did in terms of what he actually had in terms of boxing. What did you think of Nate's performance on there? Because listen, let's be honest.

I mean, Jake Paul, for what he is, he actually has had six professional boxing matches. He spent the last three years in professional boxing. He's actually been training for that. Nate hasn't. I mean, this is not Nate's natural sport. Like, he is a mixed martial artist by trade, and he was a jiu-jitsu guy, you know, originally. So, like, kind of what was your expectation going in and what did you think of Nate's performance?

You know, you know, so like, of course, you know, Nate's a guy who's fought out 155 pounds. He's gone up to 170 pounds. Now he's boxing, you know, I don't know, how old is Jake Paul 26? I don't know how old he, he's fighting a young, strong bull who's cutting to 185 pounds. He was probably walking in the cage or ring around 205 pounds. So, yes, immediately I'm,

You know, my biggest concern is, all right, this guy is young. He's quick. He's explosive. You know, we got to weather the storm the first couple rounds and things will be good. You know, then we can weather him and we could attack. Unfortunately, we got a tough early start. You know, Jake Paul was able to follow up that two with the hook. And Nate, you know, you know, he got wobbled there and he had to fight back and come back from behind.

And then he showed what a great boxer he was. he clearly started catching up and had some great momentum, unfortunately, to the fifth round when he got, you know, clipped again. And then he had to play catch up again. And just to me, I thought he was clearly a better fighter, boxer. The power went to the young man and the durability went to, you know, to Jake Paul from being young.

But towards the end, I felt the momentum again, the no-quit-nate-neigh-coming around that ninth and tenth round where Jake Paul's, getting tired, he's hugging, he's losing steam, he can't put him away. You know, obviously, you know, I think the size made a difference, you know, is what I'm trying to say here. And I think a smaller man would have weathered sooner. You know, we needed more rounds for Nate's weather and a smaller man, Nate would be more durable.

But I thought Nate did a great job. Just two significant moments happened for Jake Paul that made Nate have to play comeback a little bit. And I believe he was on his way again to coming back. you know both those times in that fifth round before he got clipped and then you know in that 10th round when jacobal was holding on and just kind of letting the time expire i'm not going to lie to you gil like i i'll be honest like i picked jake to win and that was really why because of the size like he's a natural middleweight and coming down to middleweight like i said he's probably

going to wait 200 2005 pounds Nate dyes is a natural lightweight like yes he's obviously found a lot of success of welterweight he gave leon edwards a great fight but realistically, Nate Diaz is a lightweight fighter and he was going up to 185. That was the biggest thing to me. Like, I was like, it's just not, you know, the size, like the way Nate can pick people apart on the feet at 155, no matter how you are, like size matters. You know what I mean? Like for MMA people, that's like putting Nate in there with Israel out of Sonia or, you know, Robert Whitaker or those kind of like that. That's why weight classes exist.

So like that was my biggest concern. Wasn't the skill. It was the size. And I think that did help Jake. and I fight it. I mean, there's no doubt about it. It did. Absolutely.

Absolutely. Yeah, we always talk about that. You know, would I rather fight, you know, say I'm fighting 155. Would I rather fight the top 3, 45 are in the world? Would you rather fight number 7, 8, 9, 10 at 170? You're like, man, I'd rather fight the smaller guys, you know? That's just it. You know, the number 10 guy at 170s will likely beat the number, you know,

two guy at 45s just by size and, you know, and durability out there. But Nate is the guy who can do that. Nate is the guy who's capable of doing that. And I believe he can do that at Jake Paul. I just think we ran out of time. And I believe we saw, everyone saw Nate closing the distance quite a bit, having a high guard. You know, he had an injury on his arm, which he talked to me about, not enough to make

him pull out, but just took away from him popping the jab as he normally does. His jab and pull, jab and pull, and a little bit of outside. He had to play the high guard, try to wear Jake Paul out and find his openings, you know. credit to Jake Paul for managing his energy bar well, you know, by moving around and blocking and running and hugging. That's tactical and that is the sport of boxing sometimes. But again, you know, I think Nate's a guy that'll wear you and we talk about this all the time. You know, more time is just better for Nate.

And I think if they ran it back and did it again in boxing, I think both of them would grow tremendously because that was a great fight. It's funny you say that because even before. I knew about the arm injury, which I know he kind of addressed at the post-fight presser, I noticed right away he wasn't flicking his jab out there. It was weird. I was like, what is going on here? And then he was doing well in the clinch. He came and hit him with some good uppercuts, but like, Nate is so well known for that jab and just like, I call him death by a thousand cuts because he just keeps in your face. And it was weird. I was like, what's going

on here? Nate's not throwing his jab. So I noticed that right away. So you saying that kind of confirms the thought I had watching the fight. I was like, something's going on because he wasn't flicking that job out there. That's one of Nate's best weapons. Yeah, absolutely. You know, but Nate's convictions and mental toughness is so great that he's like, well, I'm just going to walk him down and wear him out and dink him up, you know? And he was on his way. Again, he was on his way. And if, you know, Jake Paul had to make 175, it would be a different story. It'd be a different story. You know, it'd be a different story. Make 175, Jake Paul. Make 175. Do that. You know, I think that's fair.

You know, that would have been, that would have been way fair, you know. And but it is what it is. And I'm super proud of Nate. And I thought he did a tremendous job. And, and, you know, and just, you know, Nate's, you know, been through so much, man. He's been through so much, you know, has so many miles. And, man, and he's still there. And he's still there.

And he's still there up on his feet and coming forward. And, you know, looking right at his opponent in the 10th round, ready to go more. And again, I felt like, you know, even though we were going up, a little bit of a bump. At the beginning, he started climbing up, a little bit of bump from me. the fifth, you know, and he started going up again. And, you know, and by that 10th, you know, we did see Jake Paul hugging, you know, you just, you just wish there was more time for, for a DIA spy. You wish it was UFC won rules, you know, no time limit.

You know, you wish it was old school boxing, you know, no time limit. It would be just a different story. When that, and if it was old school, if it was old school, no time limit, I think NadeS would be undefeated with, like, you know, 18 championships to his record because that is D.S fighting right there. Let me, listen, at the end of the day, listen, I, you know, again, I'll be honest, I said on Twitter on Saturday night. I said, I think Jake won the fight, but I think Nate made an incredible showing for himself.

And somebody said something on Twitter, which was great. And it's so true to like, even when Nate Diaz loses a fight, he finds a way to win. And that guillotine choke in the final round and kind of clowning on Jake with a smile and everything. Like, that's all anybody's talking about. I don't want to discredit Jake Paul's performance. Credit to him for getting the job done. But here we are on Monday talking about this fight, Saturday, Sunday. Monday. All anyone was talking about was

Nate Diaz. Like, this guy, like the Leon Edwards fight is a great example of that. That fifth round almost had him out of there. Leon goes on to become champion. Like, that's all anyone talks about the Leon Edwards fight. Nate just has this innate ability to, even when he loses, he still finds a way to win.

That's the Dia's way, right? That's, that's what I'm saying, man. This guy takes risk and just walking in there against that young, big, you know, big durable guy and having the courage to do that. and slap it on that guillotine. And what I love most about it was that Jake Fall confirmed. He's like, damn, that was in pretty tight, you know, that was legit.

Kind of caught him off guard, you know, and that's what a real fight does, right? There's no referee breaking you up. You know, there's no referee to, like, you know, play the game a little bit. It's just a different game. Like, you could trip and fall, you know, walk in a little circle, take a breather. You know, there's, you know, in Muay Thai, you can fall, you know, dust yourself off, you know, tie your shoelaces, you know. There's none of that in MMA.

to different sport. And I think, you know, you know, it's, you know, it takes so much courage to go into a different dimension of martial arts, you know, and Nate did it. And all these MMA fighters do it because we're the most courageous out there, you know. And I think maybe, you know, James Tony was the only one to ever really step into the MMA octagon and to really take that challenge, you know. But it shows who has the most courage. And that's mixed martial artists.

We have the most courage. It's the purest sport out there. and, you know, you know, courage meaning we're willing to go in that, that zone that's uncomfortable and test ourselves and, and, you know, and see what happens, you know, and, you know, and Nate's a, is an animal, he's a beast, he's a businessman. He made the team proud and, and man, what a show, what a show. And back to the fight, I thought there were some really, really great rounds for Nate, really close rounds, you know, just, you know, that first and the fifth, you know, just were the rounds that really threw us off a little bit, you know, and, but some of those other rounds,

a real competitive where Jake started strong and Nate Bin is strong and and some of them I thought were really decisive for Nate too, especially, you know, that ninth and tenth in my opinion. Yeah, absolutely. Listen, I'm sorry. I actually, I, you know, I've talked to him. I've interviewed a bunch of times. I don't mind Jake Paul. I think Jake's a good dude.

I don't think he's like a bad guy. I think he actually does have some great points when it comes to some of his opinions on mixed martial arts and the treatment of the fighters and things like that. And I know he has personally like really stepped up to make sure. undercard fighters are getting paid and things like that. So I want to be clear, I'm not a Jake Paul hater. I actually like Jake in a lot of ways. But afterwards, of course, Jake's pushing the narrative.

He wants Nate in the rematch in M.A. And I respect, I think there is part of him that really would do it. And I think he's, I think he's at least somewhat serious about this. But they put out odds yesterday. And I was like, this isn't a fair fight. Like, this would not be, like, the only thing Jake would have going for him is size because he would be heavier than Nate. But I was like, in terms of skill,

in a mixed martial arts fight. This is a Mitch Matt. This is Randy Couture, James Tony, all over again. Because Jake, you know, for all he's done, he's not a fight. He's not a mixed martial artist. He's just not. Can I ask, like, in a serious, you are an analyst by trade now, Gil. This is what you do for a living.

Can we be honest with ourselves? Jake Paul stands zero chance against Nate Diaz and a mixed martialist. And I appreciate his, I appreciate his conviction wanting to do it. I do, but let's be real. In his first mixed martial arts fight, that's not a fair fight. It's just not. Yeah, yeah. So like you, I'm not a Jake Paul Hader either.

You know, I think he's done tremendous things for the sport as well. And I love that they have this great event for both these guys to be winners at the end of the day. And I think it's great for the sport, you know. But with that said as well, I'm with you. You know, it's like we just talked about a minute ago, there will be no referee. interference, right? You know, you may land a good jab, a good shot, but we can clinch. We can clinch, and there's no referee there to break you up. You know, what's going to happen then, you know, when we get in that grappling zone. It's just a different sport. You could train, you can become a

blue belt, but it takes so much time to become a black belt, right? The grappling, the wrestling is very complex to learn, you know, compared to the boxing, you know? I think boxing is probably, you know, I'm not saying it's easy to succeed, but when I have people sign up at my gym, and they're like, what should I do first? I'm like, you'll probably succeed at boxing first, meaning it's very, you know, just your hands, one, two, one, two, you know, some punches out.

There's a lot to it, but adding kicks, you know, jiu-jitsu wrestling, take so much time to learn that. And then to put it together in MMA, you know, you think your cardio is good in boxing. It's a whole different type of fight in MMA. Just like when I was a wrestler, I was a wrestler and I went to go spa boxing for the first time.

I was running great. I was wrestling great. I'm in a fantastic shape. I'm sure I can box a few rounds. It's a different type of energy. You got tired immediately. So they're a different type of energy bar. And then putting them together,

that's a whole other animal of energy right there. So, yeah, I'm with you, man. Nate destroys this guy in MMA. I love to see it. I love to see it in boxing again, too. Run it back in boxing and then do it in MMA. Nate's shoulder was hurt. I wouldn't mind running it back.

And I think they should do it at 175. I think that's a fair thing to do. Yeah. And listen, like I said, I hope Jake, I hope Jake fights. I hope he finds success in MMA. I'm certainly not rooting against him. And I hope he does, you know, I hope he goes out there and win some fights. But, you know, James Tony, I mentioned that like kind of jokingly, but all seriousness.

Like, this is a, that was a world-class heavyweight boxer. And heavyweights, you know, we all know heavy-wates, you know, one punch can change everything in boxing or MMA. Like, that was a legitimate thing for James Tony. He looked like a, I mean, he looked like a rank amateur against Randy Kut. tour. Like, it wasn't a fair fight. And, and Randy proved that. Same thing here. Like, I, I, again, I have nothing against Jake, but in, in an oh and oh, an oh and oh fighter has zero business. Like, there are, there are guys high, I mean, the UFC welterweight champion couldn't finish Nate

DS in a five-round fight at 170. And again, I'm, I'm being clear. Nate Diaz is naturally a lightweight. He's actually not even naturally a welterweight. Uh, the UFC welterweight, the UFC welterweight, the best welterweight in her sport couldn't finish Nate Diaz over five In what universe can we actually entertain the idea that Jake Paul in his first mixed martial arts fight is going to do anything to Nate Diaz except probably get caught in submission about 30 seconds in and tap out and say, well, it was a fun night at the office because that's about all that's going to happen. Absolutely. And not only in the grappling department, but striking with MMA gloves is a different animal. It's a different animal, right? It's a different animal striking, right?

The punches are different, the way they get in, you know, the angles you can use, you know, the dirty boxing you can use. It's just a different animal. It's a different sport. And yeah, and I can't wait to see it, man. I really do hope, you know, they have a rematch, whether it's boxing or MMA. And we just keep continue on with these great rides and these great entertaining shows. And yeah, man, I love to see the success of martial arts in general. It's funny because when the odds came out for Nate's fight with Jake, he was an underdog, and I get it.

You know, Jake had the experience. He had the size, all those kind of things. The odds come out in the MMA. It's like astronomical. Like, it's not even, no one's going to entertain the idea that Jake would actually do well in that fight. And that's the difference between MMA and boxing again. I agree with you. Listen, I have a lot of respect for boxing.

And when you're at the absolute highest levels, but like even when Connor fought Floyd, like, Connor was definitely a big underdog, but he still wasn't like when they made the odds afterwards for like the MMA fight. Like, just, I mean, come on. Like, we can't be realistic about this. Like, dude, if they actually booked it, like, I'd sell my house, my car, I'd take all the money I own in the world. I'd put it on Nate Diaz because it's just not, it's not like, it's not a fair fight. Like, Nate against Jake in boxing, that was a fair fight. It was fun. Uh, and as you said, Nate definitely had some moments. And I agree if it was a 175, we might have a, we might be having a much different

conversation right now. But again, like, you know MMA. I know MMA. Like, come on. Like, like, Nobody at O&O is going to come in and be a world-class championship level fighter like Nate Diaz on day one, even if you have a 30-pound advantage. Like, it's just not going to happen. You know, man, there's really nothing I could say to that except you nailed it on there, right?

It's just a lifetime of experience, right? Like, Nate's one of those guys who's just, you know, he's a mixed martial artist, right? He knows it all and it's real type of fighting and just snagging that choke and just seen how he responded, you know, he hit a single leg. It's just, it's a different. animal, right? And that's what mixed martial arts is. And it's the best fight. It's the, it's the best fighting. There's no, there's no question about it. There's, this is, this is as pure as fighting comes, right? This is as purest fighting as comes that can be sanctioned, right? Like, this is as purest form as it can go. It can become purest

with, you know, maybe a smaller cage ring and one 25 minute round. We don't know, you know, up kicks from bottom, knees to the head on the ground, foot stomps, whatever. There can be some pride rules that can change it up. But like a mixed martial arts rules is like the purest form of fighting. and if you really want to test yourself, that's where you go. And when you reach a high level in wrestling, jujitsu, boxing, Muay Thai, and you become the best, it's like you ask yourself what's next, you know, and what next is trying a different martial art, you know, if you have the courage to do it. And to become so successful in a world champ at wrestling,

you know, like Henry Sohudo, and to take on MMA says a lot, you know. There's a lot of gold medalists who are like, I'm good, you know, I'm happy here. I don't want to start all over from the beginning. because it's not only being a master of one discipline, it's knowing, it's having 10 years in each discipline, you know, having a lot of years in each discipline and really putting it all together. It's a lifetime of work. And that's why there's a lot of successful older MMA guys because it's a lifetime of work to gather all those skills and techniques. And once you get all

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way, grouped for a regular quality of free, on link on C4 I'll have I say that one, I guess I. Nate says something that kind of cracked me up after the fight, but it's true.

He said, because somebody asked him, like, when do you want to fight again? And he's like, you know, three or four months, he's like, I'm so used to, like, after an MMA fight, I'm all beat up. He's like, I don't have any, he's like, I'm so used to being cut and shit. And he's like, my legs are all tired. He's like, I feel fine after this fight. Like, I don't think, it's not an insult on boxing, but like, when you go to an MMA fight, you feel like you go through a war. Even in a win, you feel like you go through a war.

In the boxing match, he's like, yeah, man, I don't have any cuts. my legs feel fine. Like, he's like, I'm ready to go again in like three months. Yeah, so let me set the stage for you here, you know, the fight's over. We go to the back room, you know, all the same we walk back there, you know, Nate's back there. The whole crew starts walking and they finally let us in, you know. They guide us all in.

The whole team's back there. You know, I'm back there. Jake's back there, Nick's back there. Rampages back there. Tiki's back there, you know, Mike Kogan's back there. You know, Zach's back there. Sam's back there. You know, all the NDA armies back there.

and all of a sudden, you know, they just turn on the music. You hear some West Coast rap. They light up a blunt, a joint. And it's just a West Coast party. And Nate's like, what's up? Energy, I could go five more rounds. And it's just, you know, they crack open some Modellos. And it's a good time.

And he holds his head up high. And he's like, man, let's do it again, you know. And, you know, that's just how Nate rolls. That's how it is. And, you know, and on to the next. Yeah, I love it. Gil, let me ask you know, as his teammate, but also his friend and also a guy who follows the sport very closely.

As I said, you are an incredible analyst in your own right. So I'm asking you to wear a lot of hats when I ask this question. Nate is riding a big high right now. Even though technically he took a loss, I don't think anyone would be shocked with him to say, hey, let's run it back. Maybe we do it 175. Nate's actually got 10 rounds of boxing experience.

That's a huge benefit to him in a second fight. But there's a lot of opportunities out there. Of course, Nate started his own promotion Real Fight Inc. Chris Avila was talking about maybe he fights Anthony Pettis later this year real fight ink you know kind of doing something like that um there's a lot of talk afterwards like options i know nata said listen i'll go back to the ufc a lot of people immediately said do the trilogy with connor mcgregor ufc 300 early next year as his friend as his teammate but also as an analyst what do you think nate should do next because he has the world in front of him

right now he has every option available to him right now in your opinion what do you think Nate should do next. Yeah, yeah. You know, you nailed it there. You know, everyone, I think, I think the Connor fight is always there, right? That's like, always there. I'll watch them fight. If they want to do it at 45, I'll tune in and I'll give you $150 for it.

You know, we're always going to tune in. I think the MMA fight with Jake Paul is there, you know, I think it's there. But I think if we want to make it the truth, I would love a boxing match rematch with Jake Paul at 175, you know, make it 175. drop some weight, Jake Paul. I know he can do it. I know he can do it. He wants the size advantage.

I think a great boxy rematch at 175 is what I would love for Nate. I don't know if the world wants that, but I would love that. You know, and then you have the MMA fight still there, and you have the Conner fight still there as well. You know, I'd love to see that boxy rematch there. And, you know, Nate with that healthy shoulder. And, you know, Jake Paul is just making the weight and leveling the field. You know, I think he can run in.

And, you know, I think he put on size. Jake Paul put, he puts on size, but I think he can, he can lose the size a little bit and really prove that, really prove and see if he's the better boxer, you know, and see if he can really do it without having a 20 pound advantage, 25 pound advantage by fight day. You know, I think that's, that's what I would like to figure out. That's all I see it. That's me as a friend. And that's, I don't know if that's the best business or what, but I just, I just like that fight.

That's what I like. Yeah, absolutely. Listen, like I said, Nate's got the world in front of him right now. He can pretty much pick and choose what he wants because, again, he's like, once again, he's the biggest free agent in combat sports because he can pick and choose. He could do another boxing match. He could go back to M.A. He'd go to the UFC and do the counterfeit.

Like, I think it's a good time to be in the Nate Diaz business right now because even though coming off that fight, like, I don't think there's any lack of options for him right now. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And then, you know, like, you know, like Nate Diaz is just, who knows what he's thinking, right? Like, he's always four steps ahead. man, Nate is a smart guy, and he has, you know, he's peripheral vision, you know, and he's looking three steps ahead, and he might already know what he wants to do next. You know, he might have known before he had that fight, whatever way things were going to go, what he wants to do. He might have been working on things that are going to surprise us, you know. There may be somebody else he wants the box. Maybe we see him box another older boxer where he has the weight advantage, where he were fighting 165 against, you know, maybe a Maddie Pac-Eau or something like that. you know, I'd watch that, you know, or something of the sort of he wants to stay in the game and

and just see it because, you know, like I said, man, that size difference matters. And there's just so many options out there. And I'd be interested to see any sort of Nate Diaz fight. Absolutely. I know you were there with the entire team. I saw Nick was there as well. Nick was afterwards saying, give me Logan, give me Jake. Listen, I love the atmosphere and I love the attitude of the Diaz brothers because, you know,

like I said, if it's a no round, no time limit of fight, they would probably be. be undefeated with like, like I said, like 18 championships. What about Nick? I know you're around both those guys a lot. What do you think? Is Nick going to get in the boxing ring? I think Nick is capable of beating anyone in that boxing ring. And, you know, you got to remember.

Nick is the big brother Nate, man. You know, he's, he's taught Nate everything. He's, you know, he was naturally the bigger boxer, the bigger fighter. And, you know, really passed down the knowledge to Nate. So, you know, I like the idea of Nick being in a training camp and training and be as optimal self. When Nick is his optimal self, you know, he is unstoppable. And, you know, like he said, though, you know, he doesn't want to be one, I think he said it clear in his interview. He's like, I don't want to be, you know, I'm either one foot in, one foot in, you know, or, you know, I'm not

one foot in, one foot out. I'm completely in or I need a step away, you know, and, and if he steps back in, you know, he'll be in 100% and he'll be his optimal self. And I think, uh, when he's that, then hell yeah, man, I'd love to see him in there whooping some ass. And again, he's he's an amazing fighter man and he knows how to box like no other there's going to come a day I don't know when it's going to be it might be five years from now might be 10 I have no idea there's going to be a day when Nick and Nate Diaz retire and they're all doing their own thing and you know just maybe maybe being promoters and not necessarily fighting anymore the sports can be a lesser place without them around like the Diaz brothers make it so much fun

to be around this sport like in all like anytime Nick Diaz talks we listen anytime Nate Diaz talks, we listen. Anytime Nate Diaz fights, we watch. Same thing, De Renegli. There's going to come a day when those guys walk away and we're all going to be lesser for it. We're all going to learn to really appreciate what they brought to the sport. Because like I said, the sport is a more

interesting place with those two around it. Yeah, it'll be a sad day. It'll be a sad day, but what they have done for the sport is going to pass down to the next generation. How many people are striving to be Nate Diaz? How many people are striving to have the same mentality

as Nate and Nick Diaz, you know, saying, you know what, man, I'm going to do it my way. I'm going to follow my heart, my dream, nothing's going to stop me. You know, it's not, you know, it's about coming forward. It's about, you know, getting knocked down and getting back up and not being stopped that way. So, so, you know, that's what it's about, too, you know, inspiring the next generation, giving back to the next generation. And it'll be a sad day when they're gone. But I think they're going to have their imprint, not only, you know, in culture and everyone else,

but definitely for the future fighters out there who are striving to be just like them. Now, Gil, as I said, you are an incredible analyst in your free time. You're also an incredible coach. You've got the scrap pack going out there in California. Can I ask, you know, watching Nate go out there and do what he did, my first thought, because like this last week we had the press conference and we had that one jackass kid who works for Jake Paul who was talking trash. You know what I'm talking about.

That one kid he keeps doing it. Is there a chance we could get Gilbert Melendez in there just to knock the piss out of that kid? Like is there a chance? Maybe they do like a Nate Jake rematch. We could see you in because, dude, I would, I would, I would, I would personally fund your training camp to see you go in there and just kick the crap out of that kid. Yeah, that's, that's easy money, man. I don't even know if I should, if I should allow that guy to step in the ring with me, man. But what, but, you know, how stupid and disrespectful to let that guy in as press to have the opportunity to ask a question so disrespectful to Nate Diaz?

would they allow someone into the press to ask such a stupid question or address Jake Paul that way? It's just, that was just, you know, baffling to see that moment at that. But as far as fighting, you know, that was so inspirational to see Nate Diaz do that and to see all those guys do that. You know, if I were to fight again, it would definitely be for real fighting. And I would hope it would be against a real fighter as well because that's what's about, right? real fighting and I'm there to test myself against the right opponent. So I would love one day to fight under Nate Diaz banner, man.

That would be super cool to have all the team on there, whether it's boxing, MMA, grappling event, you know, sky's the limit, you know, with Nate Diaz behind it all in Real Fight Inc, man. Love to see Jake Schills on there, Nick Diaz, all of us on the car together and all the boys on. It would be a great time. Oh, like, if there's it, like you just got me like, dude, I just got goosebumps thinking about it. Like, I don't know, because I know obviously Jake still trains full time and everything.

Like, maybe he does a grappling match and you do a fight. And Nate does a boxing match. Like, dude, that would be the coolest thing ever just to see all you. Because you guys, you know, listen, I understand the stress of it. Like, it's hard for you guys to share a card together because you guys were all there supporting each other. I know it was always tough when that happened. Like, I know you and Jake shared a lot of cards together back in the day. It was always still tough, though, because you were always in his corner. He was always in yours. But, like, dude, could you imagine how amazing that would be? Because I know talking to Zaz. Nate's manager, he said, like, when they do Real Fight Inc, like, he wants to do everything.

He wants to do boxing. He wants to do MMA, grappling. Like, they want to do a lot of different things. Could you imagine how awesome that would be to get the entire old school team, the entire old school team together on one card? It's like a dream. It would be like a dream come true. I know, man.

We talk about it all the time. We would love it. It would be an amazing experience. We would really love to do that, man. I think, you know, I think that's already been thought out between us. You know what I mean? And, yeah, we'll see. We'll see what happens.

The future is bright, you know, for Team Diaz and Nate. And, you know, he's a guy who really gives back to the community out there. And, you know, I know he's thinking of everybody is up-and-comers and all that stuff. And, you know, as you get older, man, it's just fun doing business with your community and your friends and doing things together, right? You know, like, that's what's fun, you know, just like, you know, living life together, experiences like that together. It's great, man. Those are good times. Well, you don't need me to tell you this, Gil, but I'm going to say this to you because before we went on, before we started recording, I was telling you a story about a fight we attended back in 2006 in Hawaii when Jake was in the Rumble and the Rock Welterweight tournament back then.

And we always, over the years, like one thing that's always been brought up about you guys is like you guys were close-knit team, you guys were family, you guys were super close. Because like people would always bring up, ooh, would you fight this guy, would you fight, you know, and you guys were closer. we see like in MMA like you know guys train guys change teams all the time guys change trainers all the time and that's part of it we all get it Jake's out of extreme Couture teaching now obviously Nate's doing his thing Nick's de and his thing

you got your own gym scrap packs been doing their thing but one of the things I always loved about you guys is Saturday night Nate Diaz is fighting who's there Nick's there Jake's there Gilbert's there after all these years you guys have all gone your own separate ways to do different things and open teams and do all you always come back together for each other.

I think that says a lot about who you guys are as a family and as a team that even all these years later you guys are still this close because you and I both know, I'm not going to name names. You and I got you and I both know guys who are like, oh, he's my brother. He's my best friend. And then five years later, you never see them together. They don't talk anymore. And that's just life. We get it.

Like that's people just separate and get, you know, get away from each other. You guys have never broken apart. even if you're moving, live in different parts of the country. I know Jake lived in New York at one point. You're always coming together as friends and brothers. And I think we saw that again on Saturday night. Nate Diaz is fighting. Who's there?

The entire army assembles. Absolutely, man. You know, I'm not saying our way is the right way or the wrong way. It's just our way. You know, we run on loyalty. You know, we live by a code. We respect each other. You know, we back each other up first, ask questions.

Second, you know, that's how we roll. you know and um you know i think the i think the loyalty and and a brotherhoods are or or a dying thing in our society man and uh and i'm blessed i'm blessed to afford such a bond uh you know not only with them but with everyone from that gracie fighter family dave terrell you know there's so many more guys out there um you know the gil castillo's you know the vows the caesar graces and and all our fighters moses just so many guys out here it's a brotherhood that we've created right and and and we're we're loyal to each other and we all show up for each other not just us there was a there was a there was the whole team was there's more of us there's bigger you just know what you just know us but there's so

many of us right and we all do our part you know we happen to be on the front line you know out there representing for us but there's people out there showing up doing their part how they can you know whether it's carrying the bucket whether it's driving the car whether it's just being there like we've we've developed a big family community that's always there for each other and we're blessed to be a part of it and and a man i'm baffled i'm just baffled by the way people act and they're like man i don't know how you guys do that i'm like is there is there any other way to live your life is there any other way but with loyalty and with the brotherhood and with with respect to each other i just know no other way and i know people have to sometimes search and read books to figure that out but um but i just

don't know if any other way and again i'm not sure if it's the right way or wrong way but it's our way And, you know, lastly, I'll say this, man, our guys will, you know, you know, we're not, we're not fighters. We're martial artists, man. We're going to be in this to the day we die. And not saying we're always going to be world champions, but we're going to be our optimal selves. We love this shit. And we're going to be in it forever. I love it.

Gail, it is always a pleasure to catch up. I appreciate the time. Like I said, when Nate was fighting, I couldn't think of a better person to have on right after the fight to talk about everything that went down. obviously I'm glad things are going well out to scrap pack you're always staying busy I love seeing you pop up on the analyst desk and doing the things you're doing there with the SPN so thank you as always for the time you know I appreciate it best wishes to you and your entire family out there best wishes obviously to team Diaz and thank you for taking the time today man you know I appreciate it

absolutely thank you for having me always a great time looking forward to talking you next time there you go the great Gilbert Melendez coming off the fight weekend with Nate Diaz Team Diaz out there in full force. What a fun weekend. What a fun fight that was. Fun card. Listen, say what you will about, you know, Jake Paul, like, love, hate, whatever you got to say about Jake Paul.

That was a fun card. I've been to one. I went to the first five with Tyrone Woodley here in Ohio and Cleveland. It was a great atmosphere. Just a blast to see that. And I just love seeing guys find success, especially a guy like Nate Diaz who's put in the work. He's been around.

I mean, he was, you know, Ultimate Fighter Season 5 winner. So he's been around forever. and to see him find success like that is just amazing. And yeah, I'd love to see him running back, maybe another boxing match down the road. Probably not the best idea for Jake Paul's health to do it in MMA, but hey, maybe he wants to do it. Maybe, you know, maybe he wants to take that payday.

We'll see. As always, we appreciate the time. Of course, obviously, Gil on this week. We will have a special guest host as well next week. Quick explanation about that. Matt Brown's on vacation right now. Timing just didn't work out. We're going to try to pre-record something,

but it just didn't work out. so he'll be back in a couple of weeks when he gets back for vacation. Everyone deserves some time off, right? Like, you know, everyone deserves it. So we'll let Matt enjoy his vacation, and he'll be back in a couple weeks with the Fighter versus the Rider. We appreciate everyone tuning in each and every week. We'll see you next week for another edition of the Fighter versus the Rider. Thanks so much for tuning in.

We'll see you then.