Nate Diaz Places Huge Bet on Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua

Legendary UFC fighter Nate Diaz has placed a massive bet on the outcome of the showdown between Jake Paul and former two-time world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on the 19th of December.

The contest, set for eight rounds each of three minutes’ duration, has drawn criticism from many quarters. With just 13 professional fights to his name, ‘The Problem Child’ is still a relative boxing novice. The 12-1 Paul suffered his only defeat to date when he faced Tommy Fury in February 2023.

For the majority of his career, YouTuber Paul has become known for putting on heavily-hyped bouts against fighters who were either well past their prime or well out of their element. Paul’s most recent bout was against former WBC Middleweight World Champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Jake emerged victorious on points against the Mexican, who hadn’t fought regularly in years.

Prior to that contest, Paul beat heavyweight legend Mike Tyson and has also shared the ring with a number of MMA legends, including Anderson Silva, Tyron Woodley and the aforementioned Diaz.

Jake Paul Beat Nate Diaz in 2023 Fight

Jake fought the Stockton native in his first bout following his loss to Fury and took the win via unanimous decision over 10 rounds, even knocking Nate down in the fifth. The bout didn’t do much to settle the pair’s differences. Diaz had shown interest in meeting Paul in the ring once again following the news that Paul had pulled out of his planned fight with Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis.

While that option was considered by Team Paul, they ultimately decided to pursue a money-spinning clash with ‘AJ’. Shortly after the bout was announced, Nate publicly backed Jake to get the victory in Miami.

The 28-year-old Jake Paul didn’t take kindly to Diaz’ support when Anthony Joshua mentioned it at Friday’s first press conference. “That’s not really a good endorsement since he’s dumb as f***,” Paul replied.

Nate Diaz’s Staggering Bet on Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua

To be fair to Diaz, he has put his money where his mouth is, posting a copy of the $20,000 wager that he has already placed on the fight. He posted a betting slip on social media showing a $20,000 wager on Paul to beat Joshua. Should Diaz’ prediction turn out to be correct, he will collect a whopping $142,000 as a result.

Adding a caption to his post on X, Diaz stated that he would take both Paul and Joshua out in the same night if they were to sign up for an MMA fight. Given that both Paul and Joshua are going to make an eye-watering sum for their efforts in December, it’s unlikely that either man will risk their legacies by stepping into the cage with Diaz.