Nate Diaz demands huge rule change for boxing fight with Jake Paul
Nate Diaz is demanding a massive rule change for his boxing fight with Jake Paul.
The former UFC fighter makes his debut inside the squared circle inside the Problem Child in Dallas, Texas on August 5 at the American Airlines Center.
The Stockton slugger had his final UFC bout against Tony Ferguson back in September and won via submission in the fourth round at UFC 279 in Las Vegas.
But after his contract with Dana White's promotion came to an end, he will slug it out with long-standing rival Paul, who is looking to bounce back from his defeat to Tommy Fury in Saudi Arabia in February.
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Diaz and Paul will meet in a light-heavyweight contest, which is scheduled to be for eight-rounds - as all of the Problem Child's professional fights have been.
Paul has agreed a replacement fight with KSI in the event that Diaz cannot compete after he was charged with second degree battery following footage emerging him of choking out Logan Paul lookalike Rodney Petersen in New Orleans.
Diaz is still carrying on as normal but wants to up the ante a little for when he puts on the boxing gloves.
He sent out a cryptic tweet on Thursday night with the caption, "12 rounds," with many believing he wants to do the full distance with Paul.
The 38-year-old also accused the 6-1 YouTuber-turned-boxer of being on steroids, something Paul has strongly denied on multiple occasions and passed all the relevant pre-fight tests.
He continued: "Ur [sic] on steroids so let’s put that s*** to work."
Diaz fled the scene after leaving 1-0 boxer Petersen unconscious on the floor, having got into a scuffle following the Misfits Boxing 6 event where his teammate Chris Avila competed.
He handed himself in to the New Orleans Police Department and was briefly held in jail before being released from custody.
Speaking on behalf of Diaz, representative Zach Rosenfield maintains that Diaz was acting in self-defence after Petersen "aggressively pursued" him.
"We appreciate how we were treated by the New Orleans Police Department, the court and their staff," Rosenfield said.
"We continue to look forward to presenting all the evidence and videos that show Nate was acting in self-defense."
Josh Lawless