Former UFC fighter and fan-favourite Nate Diaz reveals who’s given him his toughest test inside the UFC Octagon.
Diaz’s first outing is set for August since his UFC departure. The Stockton native will take on Jake Paul in a boxing contest live on DAZN pay-per-view. The fight will mark as Diaz’s professional boxing debut, but having displayed his crisp boxing skills in the UFC’s Octagon, he’s confident in his ability to hang with the Youtuber-turned-boxer.
During his media run prior to the bout, Diaz was interviewed by Bradley Martyn, and during the interview, he detailed a possible return to MMA in the wake of his matchup with Paul. Diaz’s last bout in the UFC was a submission victory over Tony Ferguson at UFC 279.
Nate Diaz Talks UFC Career
The 38-year-old gave some great insights into his intentions after boxing, his UFC career, as well as the toughest fighter he’s faced inside the cage. Despite sharing the Octagon with names like Conor McGregor, Jorge Masvidal, Leon Edwards and Anthony Pettis, Diaz names Josh Neer as his toughest test of memory. The pair danced under the lights with one another back in 2008, with Diaz edging a split decision.
Both Nick and Nate Diaz have fought Neer, perhaps a reasoning for his choice. Nick submitted Neer in the third round at UFC 62 in 2006.
“I always say it, but there’s a guy that I fought named Josh Neer,” Nate Diaz stated in the interview. “He’s a motherf***er. He’s my boy now though, we’re homies. But Josh Neer fought my brother… And they was fighting for three rounds, hard, and Nick’s doing his thing, hitting him a lot, and I was like ‘This f***ing guy is crazy.’ And then Nick ended up finishing him in the third round though, most people Nick finished were all in the first round and maybe the second round.” (h/t MMA News)
Diaz Continues
“Time went by, and then he went down to 155 where I was fighting at. And I asked for a better opponent. I was beating people – that’s when I first got to the UFC, I beat a few people…And so they gave me Josh Neer, who was one of the Top 5 guys. That’s right when I started to fight top people. And it was my hardest fight…I watched him fight so much, and then trained so perfect for him that everything was like – he’d throw punches, I slipped it right under it, grabbed him and everything. But he countered everything and it was like if you watch that fight, me versus Josh Neer, it’s a hundred miles an hour. It’s a good fight.”
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Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
