MMA Fighting - Reaction | Nate Diaz Vs. Jake Paul Boxing Match Announced For August | MMA Fighting

Episode Date: April 12, 2023

On Wednesday, news broke that Nate Diaz and Jake Paul will finally settle their longstanding feud when the pair meet in a 185-pound boxing match on August 5, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Tex. Co-promoted by Diaz's Real Fight, Inc. and Paul's Most Valuable Promotions, the bout will air live on DAZN Pay-Per-View and features as $60.00 price tag. Was this the right step for Diaz and Paul? Who will win? What comes next? And most importantly, just how well will this do from a financial perspective? MMA Fighting's Jed Meshew, Steven Marrocco, and Damon Martin react to all this and more as we all start to prepare for what is likely to be the biggest event of the summer. Follow Jed Meshew @JedKMeshew Follow Steven Marrocco @MMAFightingSM Follow Damon Martin @DamonMartin Subscribe: http://goo.gl/dYpsgH Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/u8VvLi Visit our playlists: http://goo.gl/eFhsvM Like MMAF on Facebook: http://goo.gl/uhdg7Z Follow on Twitter: http://goo.gl/nOATUI Read More: http://www.mmafighting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Marshall's buyers travel far and wide, hustling for great deals on amazing gifts. So you don't have to. They've bagged this season's Italian leather handbags. Designer. Hand-picked the finest sweaters from the rest. Ooh, cashmere. Landed makeup pallets from the brands you love. Brushes too.

And hustled all those wishless topping toys. So plush. Our buyers have got you covered. Marshalls. We get the deals. You gift the good stuff. Is it the macha or am I this energized from scoring three Sephora holiday gift sets? Definitely the sets.

Full size and minis bundled together? What a steal. And that packaging is so cute. It practically wraps itself. And I know I should be giving them away, but I'm keeping the summer Fridays and rare beauty by Selena Gomez. I don't blame you. The best holiday beauty sets are only at Sephora.

Gift sets from summer Fridays, rare beauty, way and more are going fast. Get full-sized favorites and must have minis bundled for more value. Shop before they're gone. In store online at Sephora.com. You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network. News everybody. Hello, my name is Jedmishu of Mammat Fighting.com. But today you can call me Sean, and I'm here with two other shons, because we have an enormous announcement going on.

As we speak, just over 20 minutes ago, it was announced that Jake the problem child, Paul, will finally be settling his score with Nate Diaz in a boxing match. And so we're here to talk about it. As I said, I've got two Shons with me, the first, associate deputy editor. I'm not entirely sure your title, but the wonderful Stephen Morocco. And then for my money, the best damn reporter in the game, Damon Martin. Sean's, how we doing? Let's jump right into it. What was your initial reaction to this fight announcement?

That I think it's, it was kind of, Chad Dundas kind of summed it up pretty well by saying, You pretty much learn the MMA pecking order in how this news was rolled out. If you don't know what we're talking about, when the press release was announced, it was obviously sent to all of the people in MMA media. And a healthy majority of them had the title, Hey, Sean, at the lead of the presser, except for one man, apparently, Damon, Martin, Damon, how does it feel to both be your own man and to know that in just a few months, we're finally going to get Nate Diaz versus Jake Paul.

Yes, I did get an email that said, hey, Damon, so I did escape the Seanism. You know what? Honestly, my first reaction is I talked to Nate's manager and business partner in this, and my reaction was good for Nate. Really, like that honestly was my first reaction because we all knew when he left the UFC, he was going to have opportunities out there. We didn't know who was going to come in MMA or boxing. We all kind of speculated it was boxing.

And then Jake Paul goes and loses to Tommy Fury, and you think, well, they're going to do an immediate rematch. So, you know, maybe it's not going to happen. And, you know, maybe it's going to be Logan Paul. And then, you know, he gets it. And so weirdly, like, I know it sounds odd. I'm not rooting for anybody, but I'm weirdly happy for Nate because he did have to go through a lot of stuff to finally get his freedom from the UFC.

And I don't think he really left on bad terms, but I'm happy. He seems like he's getting. I'm assuming he's going to get paid a pretty healthy paycheck. And he's always liked boxing. And this was kind of the natural fit for him. So, yeah, weirdly, I'm just, like, happy for Nate that he got this opportunity and, and, you know, hopefully getting paid a big seven, maybe eight-figure paycheck for it. For a guy who doesn't move the needle, Nate Diaz sure moves the needle a lot.

He moves the needle, man, doesn't he? You know what I mean? I mean, the guy is doing a high-profile pay-per-view boxing fight with a proven, with a guy who, you know, he's going to make some money with. And he's still on good terms with the UFC. see like he's still in their orbit he hasn't been written off in francis and gonad so um really just an exceptional character all around and i i can't help but agree with uh damon you know the guys earned it he is paid for it and blood and brain trauma and um he deserves this big payday so happy for him as

well undeniably one of the best prize fighters going before we jump into this any further let's talk the exact details so the press release came out august fifth is the date It will be going down to the American Airlines Center in Dallas. It will be a 185-pound boxing match. You're going to use 10 ounce gloves, eight rounds. It will be on DeZone pay-per-view. And this is not in the press release, but the esteemed Ariel Helwani reported it on the MMA hour just moments ago.

The pay-per-view price is going to be looking at 60 bucks a pop. So there are your details. And I got to echo what both Damon and Stephen said. We all knew this was coming. right guys like this was this was the plan he was trying to exit the ufc on his own terms so he could go do this and he is getting it he's getting everything he wanted because also per the press release this is a co-promotion between most valuable promotions jake paul's brand and real fight ink the promotion that natia started himself along with de zone so he's getting everything he wanted

kind of moving forward and to your earlier point stephen he's still in good he's still in good with the UFC because listening to, I'm going to read a quote from the press release that is attributed to Nate. Besides Canelo, he's the biggest thing in boxing. I'm here to conquer that. I'm the king of combat sports. And then I'm headed back to back to get my UFC belts. So from that, from that takeaway, guys, before we get into talking about this fight, is this exactly what it means? Is this going to be a one-off for Nate Diaz? And then, as you so, eloquently put it, he's in good graces with the UFC. He just returns after taking this one-off big boxing pay-per-view. Do we think that's what's happening for Nate here? Is this just him playing the game?

I think it's probably a bit of both, but I would say that if you're, think about this, the genius of Nate Diaz, to leave the UFC, but again, leave on good graces. Dana White says this is always going to be your house and blah, blah, blah. He goes out and gets a huge payday to fight Jake Paul. We don't know how much. to assume it's a, you know, a significant payday. It's boxing. They earn the lion's share of the profits.

So he's getting paid a big paycheck. Let's say he goes out there and fights. Let's say he wins. Just hypothetically, he wins the fight. Then he comes back and he's got Connor McGregor in a trilogy. Talking of UFC Bells, they ain't no UFC Bells. He's going to come back and get that Connor trilogy and make another boatload of money. And it may be just pieces out forever.

Yeah, I mean, come on. Like, that would be, I could not be happier if that's what happens in ADAS for the rest of the crew. I think we kind of forget, like, Nate is not a young guy anymore. Like, he's in his late 30s. So he's only got so much time left. If he can cash an eight-figure payday against Jake Paul, maybe an eight-figure payday to go settle to score with Connor McGregor one last time.

And also, let's be honest about this. You know, Connor has not been on the greatest run lately. There's no guarantees he's going to beat Michael Chandler. If he loses that fight, which is a very realistic thing that can happen, the Nate Diaz trilogy is still out there, and that's still a massive fight. So, yeah, I think it's definitely possible. I mean, go back for that fight, maybe sign a, he can sign a three-fight deal with the UFC.

That means he's actually going to fight him. It just means he's going to sign a three-fight deal and fight Connor. And then go out and make another $10, $12, $13 million. So, yeah, I think it's really possible. Stephen, the other side of this, though, Stephen, is he does mention another name saying besides Canelo, is that also possible? If he goes out here and beats Jake Paul, I know Ariel was talking about this on the MMA hour,

do we think that's a possibility for Nate Diaz to get a ridiculous Floyd Mayweather like fight with Canelo Alvarez? No, I don't think so. I don't think Canello has shown any indication that he's that type of fighter. Not only is, do I get the sense that he has a different level of respect for the sport,

but he's also at a different point in his career. I think that Canello is not, I think Canelo still has some big fights, quite a few big fights. And I don't think that if he even were going to do it, this is the point at which he would, because I think that there's other things for him to do. I mean, way to kill the dream. Okay, so there's no fun to be had here. We're just getting Jake Paul Nate Diaz. So let's talk about it.

Let's talk about the fight because this has been set up for well over two years. Did you all have a chance to watch the trailer that accompanied the press release? I did. I did. Damon, what did you think? Because frankly, the trailer got me a little bit of hype. This is not a fight that I think that I should care about, but it's a well-made trailer. I forgot how long these two have been building this up, you know, clearly with an eye towards

this. And it got me, it got me ready to see this. So what did you think about the trailer? Where's your level of interest for this fight as it? will, you know, get near. So first off, I love the trailer. I great job by most valuable promotions and real fighting, putting that together. It came from both places.

And good job because, you know, I think these little things are fun. Like, we talk about how bad the UFC posters are sometimes. And ultimately, it's like, well, they're bad, but, you know, it's still just a poster. No one's going to not buy an event because the poster's terrible. But it's fun when you have these little extra things that, you know, like a great fight poster. I think back of the Nick Diaz, George St. Pierre fight poster, which was incredible, or a good trailer like this one. Just get you hyped up, get you excited.

So, yeah, it's fun. And as far as my interest in the fight, I'll be honest, it grew a lot with Jake losing to Tommy Fury. Because when Jake beat Anderson Silva, and that was a really solid performance from Jake, I said afterwards numerous times, I said, I think he'd be like a five to one favorite over Nate, because Nate is not a big, you know, Nate's typically a lightweight, 155 pounder. And he hasn't, I mean, yes, he's done boxing, you know, in the cage, but he's never done real boxing. And I think Anderson Silva's an incredible boxer.

So I said, this is going to be a mismatch. Like, I don't really think it's that great. But seeing Jake go out there and get beat by Tommy Fury and I didn't really think it was a split decision. I thought he lost a fight. I'm not saying it suddenly means it's like this super compelling matchup, but like, now I'm kind of, okay, now we're back to where we were before, where Jake has, you know, seen some holes in his game.

and we know Nate is tough as hell. So yeah, I'm way more intrigued. Weirdly, him losing to Tommy Fury made me more excited for him to fight Nate Diaz. Well, that continues the theme, right? Because he lost, you know, he lost to the boxer, the supposed pure boxer. Now he goes back to M.MA fighters. So it keeps kind of keeps in the narrative that he's built this entire time. Yeah.

Sorry, Jed. No, I was just saying, I'm glad you brought that up, Damien, because I've got that here on my notes, is where does the Tommy Fury of this fit in? And it, you know, just I was trying to think because we're still processing this. It's been announced for less than 30 minutes. I'm trying to think if the Tommy Fury loss made me more compelled by this fight. And I think I'm with you on that, Damon, because like you, after the Anderson Silva thing, I thought, well, Anderson's definitely a better boxer. He's bigger than Nate. If Jake can win this, then this isn't compelling or worthwhile.

And then Jake, you know, stumbles a bit against Tommy Fury. And coming into that, a lot of people hand up myself. included, did not think super highly of Tommy Fury. And so for him to kind of beat Jake really resets where we're at. So, Stephen, I'm interested in that take of it. The thought of, okay, this is going back to the narrative of, all right, you face a guy who can actually box. Nate Diaz, not a boxer, but has been lauded over his MMA career for his boxing.

How do you think this fight kind of looks go? I get it's time it's time for that part of it what do we think we're going to see come August 5th uh when these two do step into the ring I still don't think that Nate is is a favored it is the favorite I still think he's the underdog because he's got a ton of miles on him he is a natural 155 pounder who may be who may be one at 185 pounds on flight night but won't be the functional 80 185 pounds that Jake is well I think is cutting down. And Jake, I mean, this is a fight that is tailor-made for Jake, sort of taking someone on in the twilight of their career, when their skills, their reflexes have diminished somewhat.

And he is a guy who is a lot less punches on the punch card. You know, he has, he has the ability to take some of these shots. He has the ability to bounce back. His reflexes are, he has youth. You know, that's the easiest way to say it. And so I, I agree with Damon. I think that had he, had he not lost to Tommy Fury, um, I might have, uh, felt differently about this, you know, I might have given him, um, I might have felt differently about the matchup, but I still think that Nate is, is, is not, is it a deficit here? because boxing for MMA and boxing for boxing are two different things. And the training is different.

And I know that Nate has done a lot of work with Virgil. I can't remember his last name, trainer of Underwood. Yeah. I mean, they really have made that a cornerstone of their preparation for all these years. But it's two different games. It's two different. when you're doing a, there's a big difference between going in for a little sabbatical and then doing a full camp.

It's, I just think that Jake has a lot of natural advantages, which has kind of been the way it's, you know, he's designed it. It's hockey season, and you can get anything you need delivered with Uber Eats. Well, almost, almost anything. So no, you can't get a nice rank on Uber Eats. But iced tea, ice cream, or just plain old ice, yes, we deliver those. Goaltenders, no. chicken tenders, yes, because those are groceries, and we deliver those too, along with your

favorite restaurant food, alcohol, and other everyday essentials. Order Uber Eats now. For alcohol, you must be legal drinking age. Please enjoy responsibly. Product availability varies by region. See app for details. This episode is brought to you by Peloton. A new era of fitness is here. Introducing the new Peloton Cross Training Tread Plus, powered by Peloton IQ, built for breakthroughs, with personalized workout plans, real-time insights, and endless waste of move lift with confidence while peloton IQ counts reps corrects form and tracks your progress let yourself run lift flow and go explore the new peloton cross-training tread plus at one peloton.ca yeah it's uh it's fun that you mentioned version ward non charitise because paul also releases a statement with the press release

a lot going on there but the tail end of it is people tell me nate has been training with andre ward for years that he has insane stamina that he refuses to back down. Good for fucking Nate. I haven't forgotten about the slap backstage in Arizona on August 5th. A problem child is going to piece up and knock out the Stockton G. Damon. Sounds like you certainly previously were thinking that Jake Paul's assessment of this fight is probably accurate.

Do you still feel that way? Do you think on August 5th, Jake Paul is going to knock out Nate Diaz? I think stylistically, Nate is kind of built for Jake Paul. in the way that Nate moves forward constantly and throws a jab. That's his best weapon. His jab is nasty and he throws volume. Jake is more of a counterpuncher. When you look at his biggest knockouts,

it's because his opponents are coming forward and he just lays into them. That's kind of why the Anderson Silva fight played out kind of weird because Anderson is also a counterpuncher. And so they weren't really engaging a ton until late in the fight when he tagged him and dropped Anderson late. But when you watch him fight Tommy Fury, Tommy Fury, Jed, I'm with you 100% I was, if you go back and listen to any of my podcast. You were the most aggressively anti-Tommy Fury as a boxer person on staff.

I think it's safe to say you were the most ardent. Tommy Fury sucks of all of us. And most of us were pretty anti him. Yeah, he was, when you watched his boxing matches, he was not good. I mean, he just wasn't. Like, he just was not good. But what he did to Jake Paul was he stuck to the fundamentals. He didn't have to do anything different.

He threw a one-two combination. He moved, good footwork, stayed out of range, and then just kept pop shot and Jake all night. And that's where he started to realize, like, well, Jake is, Jake is not a great fundamental boxer. Like, he's not terrible, but there's a difference between boxing Tyron Woodley and Ben Ascran and Nate Robinson and all these guys, and then going out there and boxing a guy who just knows how to throw the most basic of

combination. So I still think this is a tailor-made fight for Jake to win. He'll have the size. He'll have the power. He'll be heavier on fight night. And Nate comes forward constantly and just kind of throws those pitter-patter punches. I think that's something that Jake can kind of feast on. So yeah, I lean towards Jake Paul winning this fight.

But again, you know, Nate has shown pretty solid fundamentals. Now, again, not boxing for MMA. If he can adjust that and actually learn how to do the boxing fundamentals, We'll see how much that gives Jake a problem because Jake, Jake struggled. I don't care what, I don't care if it said split decision. It wasn't a split decision. Tommy Fury won that fight. But it was just that.

Tommy was just doing the most basic boxing things, literally the most basic boxing things, and he beat Jake Paul. So Jake Paul has got to learn a lot to figure out how to beat that come August 5th. And again, maybe it's not the biggest risk because Nate is, again, he's a good boxer for MMA. So we'll see how it all plays out. But I still lean Jake Paul again, size, power. and stylistically, this kind of plays into what he does well, which is catching guys when they come forward,

and we know that's what Nate Diaz does best has come forward. Well, the odds makers agree. They currently have just checked on this, just to make sure we've got Nate Diaz is a plus 200 underdog. The favorite will be Jake Ball, minus 260. A couple of questions before we wrap up here. The other two remaining points that I'd like to discuss, we're going to have plenty of time to break this down,

but let's just say, let's say Jake Paul pulls this off and, and moves forward. Is his next fight going to be KSI, or do we think that that is, is the next future buildup? Or is this, is this just kind of all we need to see right now from Jake Paul?

This is a rebound and then whatever comes next is there. Because that was the other fight that, that was an option, right? I know KSI is, who's he fighting, Damon? Joe For now. Yeah, Joe For you.

Joe 4. That's the other one that's been thrown, but that is obviously the big buildup in the influencer boxing scene. Is this the road to Paul KSI? Or is this, is this its own thing? And Paul KSI can come down the line.

What's funny is he actually says in the press release, I could have taken an easier fight like KSI. Sure does. So I thought that was funny. Realistically, I'll be honest. I thought he was going to just rematch Tommy. And I don't know that would have gone great for him, considering, you know, the last fight was just, again,

the boxing fundamentals he didn't have. So I'm going to stick with Tommy Fury is probably his next opponent if he beats Nate Diaz to try to get that one back. The KS.I fight would be huge. And maybe if KSI goes out there and sleeps Fornier, maybe that will intrigue him a little bit more. And I'm sure that would be a massive payday. But I'm going to stick with Diaz, Tommy Fury, as the path.

And also, if he beats Nate Diaz, it does make the Tommy Fury rematch a little more intriguing because you're not just doing it back to back and people aren't going to say, well, you just got beat by this guy six months ago. Well, like how is it going to be that much different?

So yeah, I think it's probably going to be Diaz, Tommy Fury, and maybe down the road KSI would be my guess. But again, I thought the Tommy Fury rematch was going to happen now and we're getting a Diaz. So I guess anything's possible.

Well, Tommy Fury may be boxing Liam, Liam of One Direction. So he has other influencer boxing on his mind. Steve, what were you going to say? I think the fact that he isn't sort of indicates that maybe the receipts didn't, weren't as good as he thought, or just the fact that the matchup was on the table and Nate was interested,

Nate is a bigger draw than Tommy Fury. Nate is a proven draw over years and years and years, and they've given themselves three months to promote this thing. I mean, they kind of came out of the gate on this one. They had the promo already done. Doesn't this have sort of like the vibe of something that they've, that they're really, that they're really trying to give themselves the best chance of success for and what they've done and what they've done so far.

So it's like the fact that he's not rematching Tommy Fury indicates to me that, you know, some financial considerations are probably a part of this. And you beat a guy like Nate Diaz, regardless of whether or not he's competitively there or not, your name dies last in this game. And so you beat a guy like Nate Diaz and it. puts you back in the esteem of a lot of, you know, tastemakers in this in combat sports, at least in our neck of the woods.

Like boxing, I think he's going to have to beat Tommy Fury at the bare minimum to get going on that front. And he's got a ways to go. But from what he's done so far, from the market that he is playing in, I think this is probably the best move to do Nate Diaz and then go back to the rematch.

And I would agree with Damon that that's probably what's going to happen. Can I throw in there, real quick. I love that. You mentioned that, Stephen, about your name dies last because we do live in a world where Vitor Belfort holds a win over Evander Holyfield and Anthony Pettis holds a win over Roy Jones Jr. Also, you mentioned the fact that they had the poster, the trailer and everything done. I know that sounds weird, but like that was so well done. Because if you remember with the Tommy Fury fight, like it got announced, but then no one would confirm it for like weeks after. Like everyone said it's happening, but then no one said anything. Well, the most recent week,

when it actually happened. There was no, there was no post. there was no trial like they didn't even talk they wouldn't acknowledge it like I was trying to confirm the fight and like no one would actually acknowledge that it was in the works or happening and then it finally got confirmed like four weeks before the fight and I interviewed Tommy Fury like maybe a week and a half before the fight or like maybe two weeks out from the fight like it was kind of like the worst put together event for like what is supposed to be kind of like a big boxing match uh they didn't even confirm it to like four weeks out here we're getting this one basically five months ahead of time like August

5th it's way way out we got a poster we got a trailer we got a press release a way better job on this one here's a question does the UFC counter program I don't think so and and that's going to lead us into this the last thing I wanted to talk about here

because Damon I honestly felt when that was happening with the Fury that it was just they had been bitten twice so they're not going to commit because we were talking about it on fight week whether Tommy Fury was going to actually show up So this one, you know Nate Diaz is going to show up. And Steve and I am fully on board with you here, that they are going to give this to full court press.

I think we're going to get some sort of a promotional tour. In the press release, they say they've got 800,000 pay-per-view purchasers for Paul Fury. Take that with a grain of salt. It is a press release. But I think the UFC is not going to count a program because of what we previously talked about on this show. I think they know that Nate Diaz is coming home sooner rather than later, and it only benefits them to let him do this. He's already out from under the umbrella, let him build this up,

and then when he comes back, they can finally do the Diaz-McGregor 3 and that that thing will almost assuredly break 2 million pay-per-view buys. So I don't think we're getting counter-programming from the UFC. My question, with that in mind, and given the numbers there at least saying happened for Paul Fury, what do we think the total pay-per-view buys for this, this will be at. And again,

it's a $60 pay-per-view, August 5th. I don't know if there's anything else going on that weekend, but I am assuming that they will have the run of the show that weekend. These two guys, what do we think? So just for scheduling sake to, for scheduling sake to throw it out there,

the UFC has a fight night card plan on July, 22nd and then July 29th is a second pay-per-view in July and that's the one that's rumored for London for Leon Edwards Colby Covington is the rumor not a done deal not making an announcement just saying like that's the rumor so they are doing it they are planning to do a second paper view on July 29th meaning they are not going to do another big card on August 5th if they do if they do anything it's going to be a fight night and I honestly think they're going to because they have they have fights they have fights every weekend in July in the UFC it seems to be it seems to reason august fifth will be a weekend off and then they'll get back up and running

so they're not doing this like in a vacuum they're doing it because they know they're not going to be cut on program by a big card uh from the ufc the ufc is planning on july 29 so that that's i'm sure that's a big part in the date they are not idiots in what they're doing if if there is any ufc card it will not be even a high level fight night it'll be an apex show with forgettable main eventers because that's where we're at. But you're absolutely right, Damon. They know what they're doing. I mean, Nikis Abidarian knows what he is doing in this regard.

So what do we think on pay-per-views? Is it going to break a million? I guess let's start the conversation there. At 60 bucks with Jake's audience, it's really weird. It's like legacy UFC fans versus. is Jake Paul millennial downloaders

my guess is it doesn't break a million Oh, we have a we have an under a million Damon What are your thought Do we think this breaks a million? I don't think so

And I know this is going to sound Like a remarkably low number But I think if they break 500,000 pay-per-views That would be a huge win for them Because the pay-per-view market has changed dramatically In recent years

It just has you know, it just has changed so much. You know, getting, getting beyond 300, 400,000 paper views is a big deal nowadays. Like, that's just the reality of it. Do we occasionally get a big Tyson Fury fight that will do well or a big Canelo fight that will do well? Or obviously in the UFC when we get Connor or, you know,

John Jones, Steepay, if that happens, that'll probably do really well. But pay-per-views aren't what they once were. So if they break 500K, that would be a huge win, I think. So I would say Nate Diaz, does draw a crowd. There's no doubt about that. He's, he is actually a legitimate A side to a, you know, this is two A sides in a lot of ways. Like, Jake definitely commands a crowd. We can't sit there and say he isn't a star. He is. But this is entire Woodley, a guy who's never, never was a draw on the UFC, Ben Ascran who no one cared about until he got starched by Mazvedal. You know, he's not, he's not,

and Tommy Fury was, was fighting with a last name. No one knew Tommy, the only people who knew Tommy Fury were the people who watched his reality show and the, people who knew his last name was Fury. That's it. He was not a star in his own right. He was a star because he had been attached to the Jake Paul fight for like two years. He actually has a legitimate A-side partner in this, and Nate Diaz, for the first time ever. I mean, let's be honest, he's not really had this kind of dance partner in his boxing career. So 550, 600,000 buys, I think they'll be massive. I think that's a huge win for them. I am shocked. I'm hammering the over a million. I think with the four, four, four.

five months, whatever timeline we're looking at. I haven't done the math. I'm not good at calendars for a promotion. I think this is, this is, they know what they're doing. I think this is a target. I'm not taking the 800,000 pay-per-view buys at face value because that seems a bit sus to me. But Nate Diaz, if they did even close to 800K for Paul of Fury in a fight that we've

already talked about being not as well promoted as possible and with a beast, a very clear B side, you've got two legitimate A's, a fight that's going to have a full court press that has legitimate interest and a natural storyline. I think this thing is for sure breaking a million pay-per-view buys. And so it's going to be the biggest thing that happens this summer, frankly. Let me throw this out there real quick. Also, we mentioned this already. They had the trailer, they had the post. Or one thing I want to say also, they gave us months to get excited. One thing I hate about, one thing I really hate about like fight announcements these days. And it comes a lot in the UFC is that we hear fight announcements, you know, six weeks before a fight.

Now, I'm not saying you can't get excited about a card six weeks before a fight. But I remember in the old days, when I say old days, I mean like three years ago, where you get a fight announcement three, four months ahead of time. And you'd actually get time to build up the anticipation. You get excited. Like, oh, man, like we've heard rumors for months about John Jones fight and Stio as Stepi Mioch in July. We still don't know if that's going to happen.

Like, that's sooner than Diaz, Paul. We still have no idea if that's actually going to happen. and we have basically five months, the better part of five months, to get excited for Nate Diaz. They can do a press conference soon, a ticket on Zell press conference. They'll do the face off,

we'll get excited. They'll do it again in July, we'll get excited. So I'm commending them for actually, for actually going out there and building this thing up for months instead of giving us like five weeks to get excited,

because now we actually have time to be like, oh man, August 5th, August 5th, commend them for actually doing it the right way. I could not be in more agreement with you. We've got plenty of time. I'll admit, my interest is peaked. We've got plenty of time now to let this build up. They've hit the ground as well as they possibly can.

And so that'll be it for us again. It's August 5th. It will be at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Jake Paul versus Nate Diaz, 185-pound boxing bout. It's the fight we've more or less all been waiting for. It's going to be the biggest event to the summer. keep it locked to mmafinding.com. We will have more as this continues to develop.

And certainly as we get closer, we will be covering this in-depth from every angle possible. Thank you. Stephen. Sean, sorry, Damon. Appreciate you for hopping on. And we'll be back soon. You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network.