AUSTIN, TEXAS: When commenting in real-time during the boxing fight between Jake Paul and Nate Diaz, Joe Rogan made a big prediction. On August 5, former UFC champion Diaz was defeated by YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul.
However, Diaz did have some good moments during the fight. Near the end of their bout, the Stockton native mockingly tried to choke Paul with a guillotine, which is prohibited in boxing.
‘That sets up an MMA fight for sure’
Rogan and his friends discussed their in-the-moment responses to the Paul-Diaz bout on an episode of the 'The Joe Rogan Experience'. The podcaster and and BJJ expert Eddie Bravo discussed Diaz's alleged attempt at a guillotine choke.
Rogan also projected that Paul and Diaz had definitely set themselves up for a rematch, albeit in the sport of MMA, while anticipating the judges' final decision.
“Wow! I'll tell you what -- That sets up an MMA fight for sure. For sure! If they wanna do it and make more money, that makes it very interesting. That sets up an MMA fight for sure,” Rogan said.
Paul made a $10M offer to fight Diaz in an MMA match in the PFL during his post-fight interview with Ariel Helwani. He had given Diaz the same offer prior to their boxing battle, but Diaz had already signed with the PFL this year. “I wanna run it back in MMA... Yeah, I want 10 million dollars, PFL, that's the offer. Let's run it back in MMA; make it fair. I won one. Now, it's your chance in your home territory, MMA. Let's do it,” he said.
In his reply, Diaz made it seem as though he would be willing to fight Paul in MMA. Additionally, Diaz made fun of having a "single-leg" takedown in Round 1 and a "choke" at the finish of the fight. In later interviews, Diaz demanded a rematch in boxing and mixed martial arts versus Paul.
‘Well, he would probably f**k me up’
In an episode of the 'JRE' podcast earlier in 2023, Rogan was having a discussion with comedian Andrew Schulz. Schulz asked the podcaster if he could defeat Paul in the ring. The 55-year-old responded that if they had to fight right now, Paul, 26, would probably beat him hands down.
The former Taekwondo competitor claimed that although being much older than Paul, he had struggled with knee injuries. He said that if he had better knees and been younger, he would have used his kickboxing prowess to defeat Paul. He added that he now stood a good chance of losing to "The Problem Child."
"Well, he'd [Jake Paul] would probably f**k me up. He's a really good boxer. He's a good boxer," Rogan stated.
