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Nate Diaz’s legendary UFC career will always be linked to Conor McGregor. After Saturday, the Stockton-born fighter’s boxing career will forever be linked to Jake Paul.
Diaz, 38, will be making his professional boxing debut Saturday at the American Airlines Center in Dallas against the 26-year-old Paul, who first gained notoriety in his teens as a social media sensation specializing in prank videos. So while Diaz was amassing a loyal following for his mixed martial arts skills, nonchalant attitude and willingness to always throw down, Paul was making a name for himself as a prankster. Once he turned his attention to the sport of boxing, Paul quickly made a splash on the combat sports scene after fighting on the undercard of his brother Logan Paul’s exhibition match against KSI. That card could be considered the birth of the scourge of “influencer boxing.”
Now, in his biggest prank to date, Paul has transformed himself into a pro boxer who feasts on former MMA stars. As a boxer, he’s 6-1 with all of his victories coming against non-boxers. Sure that list includes former UFC and Bellator champions (and one NBA Slam Dunk champion), but it doesn’t include anyone who specializes in the sweet science. In his last match, Paul finally faced an actual boxer in Tommy Fury and was handed his first career loss by split decision.
Will Diaz become the first MMA fighter to beat Paul? Sports books don’t seem to think so. At BetMGM, Paul is a -425 favorite to defeat Diaz. Diaz is at +325. A Diaz win by decision is +900 and +600 by KO/TKO/DQ. Paul winning by KO/TKO/DQ is -180 and +300 by decision.
In the co-main event, undisputed women’s featherweight champion Amanda Serrano puts all of her belts on the line in a rematch against Heather Hardy. Serrano defeated Hardy in their first bout on Sept. 13, 2019 by unanimous decision and is a massive -2000 favorite to repeat history.
Here’s how you can watch the Diaz versus Paul pay-per-view. And you can follow the action live right here with Yahoo Sports.
Nate Diaz vs. Jake Paul live updates
Nate Diaz vs. Jake Paul main card odds, results (Start time 8 p.m. ET, Showtime PPV, ESPN+PPV)
• Catchweight (185 lbs): Jake Paul (-425) vs. Nate Diaz (+325)
• Women’s featherweight championship: Amanda Serrano (-2000) vs. Heather Hardy (+1000)
• Lightweight: Ashton Sylve vs. William Silva
• Super middleweight: Chris Avila vs. Jeremy Stephens
• Women’s super middleweight: Shadasia Green vs. Olivia Curry
• Welterweight: Angel Beltran vs. Alan Sanchez