Former interim UFC champion Justin Gaethje has told Nate Diaz to forget about returning to the UFC and to focus on earning money fighting elsewhere.
Diaz, 37, was trying to leave the UFC for months having spent 15 years competing in the promotion, but was struggling to book a fight. Fans accused the UFC of sacrificing the veteran by matching him up against rising star Khamzat Chimaev for his final fight, but Chimaev went on to miss weight and was pulled from the clash. Diaz went on to enjoy a fitting end to his UFC stint as he submitted Tony Ferguson and set a promotional record whilst doing so.
The UFC legend has been backed to cash in for a lucrative payday against YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul now he is free to explore other opportunities. Gaethje told ESPN of Diaz's future: "He better not ever come back. He better go make money somewhere else. There's plenty of money to be made for Nate Diaz outside of the UFC. He can be his own boss and that's what he should do."
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Diaz was in attendance at Paul's fight against Anderson Silva last month to support his teammate Chris Avila, who won against YouTube star 'Doctor Mike' Varshavski on the undercard. The 37-year-old was eventually booted out of the arena after causing trouble with Paul's team backstage and slapping a member of his entourage.
Paul reacted to the incident by stating: “I want Nate Diaz, he's a b***h. He tried to come into my locker room. He tried to cause some shit and then he always leaves the f*****g arena. So Nate Diaz, stop being a b***h and fight me". 'The Problem Child' later doubled down on his call-out by adding: "Everyone wants that fight, he tried to fight [my] people in the hallway. Nate, stop fighting people for free, let's do it in the ring."
Diaz has never competed in the ring before, but along with brother Nick fans felt the brothers had some of the best boxing in the entire UFC. Former world champions Andre Ward and Regis Prograis have been among those to praise Diaz's boxing skills having sparred him in the past.
The UFC legend confirmed his plans to fight Paul when he recently told iD Boxing : "Jake is for sure one of the options, he's doing big stuff, he's doing really big things and he's got a big fight ahead of him and if he wins that I think people should surely be really impressed by it."
