'At some point, for sure' - Nate Diaz is open to fighting Jake Paul in the future

Nate Diaz has revealed that he would consider fighting internet celebrity turned professional boxer, Jake Paul in a boxing match.

It has been over a year since Nate Diaz competed in the Octagon. Diaz was defeated by Jorge Masvidal at UFC 244 for the symbolic UFC "Bad Motherf*cker" belt the last time he competed.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani on his ESPN MMA Show, Nate Diaz shared his thoughts on the UFC lightweight division and detailed his plans for 2021. When questioned about fighting Jake Paul, Nate Diaz did not dismiss the possibility of facing the YouTuber in a boxing match in the future:

"Not at the moment, no. But at some point, for sure," said Diaz.

Nate Diaz gave an odd answer when asked for his opinion on the upcoming boxing match between Paul and former UFC welterweight Ben Askren.

"Uh, I don't know. Let's see what happens. I think one thing he has to understand is that he is fighting Ben Askren. That is a different type of boxing match than he's probably used to," said Nate Diaz.

"So, he better rent some goofy unorthodox wrestlers to spar with because sometimes those are harder fights just because they are unorthodox, and you don't know what to expect coming from a boxing point of view. I would expect that from Ben Askren. But it could be tough; it could be easy, who knows?" added Diaz.

One-on-one with @NateDiaz209. His first interview in well over a year.We talked:* What happened to the Masvidal rematch?* Who he want next * His desire to fight 2-4 times in 2021* Poirier-McGregor 2 thoughts* Jake Paul’s calloutAnd more.Enjoy! https://t.co/zihuRs61iq

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 9, 2021

Nate Diaz has been linked to a possible trilogy fight with Conor McGregor at welterweight following the latter's loss at UFC 257. Competing as a welterweight in the UFC since 2016, Nate Diaz recently announced that he would return to the lightweight division, where he was once a title challenger.

Nate Diaz sent a threatening warning to Jake Paul on Twitter

UFC 202: Diaz v McGregor 2

Jake Paul's foul-mouthed call-out to UFC superstar Conor McGregor at the end of 2020 caused an uproar in the MMA community. Many fighters positioned themselves in support of the Irishman, including Nate Diaz.

Jake Paul u need your ass beat for free u spoiled fuck u can’t really fight dumbshit your gonna end up with your ass whooped for real somewhere talking like that 👊🏼

— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) December 15, 2020

Asked by ESPN's Ariel Helwani about the threatening message he sent to Paul on Twitter, Nate Diaz explained himself.

"He was just talking some serious fighting words to Conor, right? So, I'm like, 'Oh, there's some real fine words for a guy who has already decided to fight in a real fight. And no one is going to speak up, not even Conor probably because he don't want to give him no clout for it," said Nate Diaz.

"So, I was like, 'Someone needs to tell this guy to shut up.' So, I mean, I was not trying to have nobody's back. But just from a real fighter perspective, it is like, 'Well, you are talking fine words.' It don't make no sense for people to do that. It's like challenging someone to a basketball match, you know? Boxing, just boxing, it is only a piece of a fight, and you are talking dirty, so someone is going to f*ck you up if you don't watch it," added Diaz.