Jake Paul Eyeing Nate Diaz In Mixed Martial Arts ... After MVP + PFL Merger

Published August 1, 2026 12:30 AM PDT

Jake Paul won't just be running the new MVP MMA promotion after the merger with PFL ... he'll also be fighting, and he's got two big-name opponents in mind!

The Problem Child chopped it up with Babcock on Friday ... and was asked if he was targeting his longtime rival, Nate Diaz.

"Yeah, Nate Diaz. Mike Perry would be great," the 29-year-old fighter said.

"We love Mike Perry. The Nate conversation has been ongoing. It just never made complete sense. I think up until this moment, things just got a lot more serious with this announcement. So, I want the Nate Diaz MMA fight very, very bad."

Paul's company, Most Valuable Promotions, is merging with Professional Fighters League, and fights will ultimately run under the MVP MMA banner.

Jake and Nate's beef goes back years. The two stars already fought in the boxing ring in August 2023 ... which JP won by unanimous decision.

Paul had the advantage in the squared circle ... but a mixed martial arts fight would seemingly favor Diaz, who has been fighting MMA professionally since 2004.

Jake and Mike also have some history, too.

Perry was a sparring partner of Paul's in early 2021 ... and after clips leaked of the session, the guys traded barbs back-and-forth.

Like with Diaz, Paul beat Perry in a boxing match in 2024.

Both matchups are attractive to Jake ... and would be for fans, too.

As for his vision of MVP MMA, we asked Jake if the goal was to compete with the UFC, and Paul made it clear they weren't going to take a back seat to anyone.

"One thousand percent, it's war."

"I look at this like Coke versus Pepsi and there's already so many comparisons made with us on a day-to-day basis, but we got more viewership than they did on their White House card where Donald Trump is promoting it. I love Donnie and we're going to make MMA great again."

Bottom line for Jake.

"We can compete. We are competing and we're out competing. So, it'll be exciting and interesting.