Breaking: Chris Avila set to fight ex-UFC star Jeremy Stephens on Jake Paul vs Nate Diaz undercard

We are now just over six weeks away from the blockbuster boxing match between Jake Paul and Nate Diaz, and today, former UFC star Chris Avila has confirmed that he will compete on the undercard of the event.

A training partner of the Diaz brothers, Chris Avila spent a very brief time in the UFC back in 2016.

He was brought in to face Conor McGregor’s training partner Artem Lobov on the undercard of UFC 202, which was headlined by McGregor vs. Diaz, and suffered a unanimous decision loss.

Watch some clips of Avila vs. Lobov below.

Avila then lost to Enrique Barzola three months later and was released from his deal with the promotion. Since then, he has fought for Bellator MMA and is currently on a two-fight win streak.

He has also fought as a professional boxer since 2021, and has a record of 3-0, including one victory over Paul’s training partner Anthony Taylor.

In an appearance on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Hour podcast, Avila revealed not only the identity of his opponent for the Paul vs. Diaz event, but some more details about the fight:

“I’m fighting Jeremy Stephens...we’ll be the featured bout on the card. Sh*t, I’m ready to go...I wanted a legit fight, I wanted to fight a real fighter, either a real boxer or someone who’s been in the game and has got experience like Jeremy Stephens...I’m excited cause I’m ready to test myself, I’ve been active boxing, so I know what I’m capable of and I’m ready to fight the top guys right now.”

According to MMAFighting, the bout between Chris Avila and Jeremy Stephens will be contested at 168lbs, and will feature eight rounds.

Stephens fought for the UFC from 2007 until his release in January 2022. During his time with the promotion, ‘Lil Heathen’ picked up wins over Josh Emmett, Renan Barao and Rafael Dos Anjos and compiled an octagon record of 15-18 with one No Contest.

Since his departure, Stephens has fought for the PFL, and also fought to a draw with legendary former UFC champion Jose Aldo in a boxing match in April.

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Chris Avila vs. Jeremy Stephens added to Paul vs. Diaz undercard: Which other fights are going down at the event?

As of the time of writing, just three fights have been confirmed for the Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz event, which will go down on August 5 in Dallas, Texas.

The headliner will see YouTube sensation Paul face off with UFC legend Diaz in a ten-round boxing match.

The fight was initially pegged for eight rounds, but was recently changed to ten, with Paul apparently acquiescing to a request from Diaz.

Chris Avila’s welterweight fight with Jeremy Stephens has now been added to the event too, but it’s arguable that the next-biggest bout on the night will be the featherweight clash between Amanda Serrano and Heather Hardy.

The fight will be contested for the IBF, IBO, WBA, WBC and WBO titles and is a rematch of their clash in September 2019, which was won by Serrano.