Nate Diaz's boxing skills have been certified by former world champions Andre Ward and Regis Prograi
Nate Diaz appears to be on the verge of leaving the UFC to explore what promises to be a lucrative free agency market that will almost certainly include crossover fights in boxing.
Diaz is set to see out his current contract in the UFC 279 main event when he takes on Tony Ferguson in a five-round, non-title fight.
Ahead of his imminent departure from the UFC, the native of Stockton, California has been linked to a fight with YouTuber-turned-boxer, Jake Paul.
‘The Problem Child’ is 5-0 since transitioning to pro boxing and has picked up knockout wins over former MMA champions Tyron Woodley and Ben Askren.
On Wednesday, it was officially confirmed that he'll face Anderson Silva on October 29 but don't be surprised if a fight against Diaz is booked for later this year.
Over the years, the 37-year-old has proved himself as one of the most skilled boxers in MMA.
However, he is one of a few UFC fighters who actually spars with elite-level boxers, and they have nothing but good things to say about his skills.
Two-weight world champion Andre Ward often used Diaz to prepare for opponents throughout his perfect 32-fight career that came to an end in 2017.
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“He’s really hard to spar, really,” Ward said of Diaz in 2016.
“They call it the Stockton Slap because he will slap you to death, man. I don’t mean that in a bad way.
“Nate helped me get ready for Chad [Dawson] and he always comes in shape and throws a million punches from a million different angles.
Ward later backed Nate and his big brother, Nick, to succeed in boxing.
“Those boys could do good in boxing. Anytime I’ve fought a left-hander I’ve had them over in camp. They lasted the whole camp, they can take it and dish it out,” he said in 2017.
Ward isn’t the only former world champion who has spent time in the gym with Diaz. Regis Prograis held the WBA light-welterweight in 2019 and has also sparred the UFC fan favourite who impressed him.
“We definitely went at it. The crazy thing about that is... We were actually on our way to the movies,” Rougarou said in 2020.
“My chef made a big a** plate of shrimp spaghetti for me and I literally sat here in the gym and ate it.
“Nate was in here, warming up and stuff and his sparring partner didn’t come. And it was like, ‘S***! Do you wanna spar?’ I was like, ‘Hell yeah!’
“I was bloated, I was slow but I still had the power and it was pay-per-view TV. I’ve still got the video and one day I’ll put it out – we ran it, for sure.”
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Prograis has since released a snippet of his sparring session with Diaz who clearly holds his own despite being known as a submission artist during his early career in MMA.
Diaz would certainly represent the toughest test of Paul’s short career and the 25-year-old could well be added to his highlight reel which includes wins over Conor McGregor, Anthony Pettis, Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone, and Gray Maynard.
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