Nate Diaz, Deontay Wilder Express Interest in MMA Fight

While mixed martial artists switching to boxing has become
commonplace in recent times, Deontay
Wilder might soon become the first high-level pugilist to
compete in MMA in over a decade.

Crossover fights are a hot topic of discussion right now with
Francis
Ngannou putting on a stunning performance in a near upset of
World Boxing Council champ Tyson Fury
in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia last month. Considering the lack of MMA
opponents for Ngannou in
Professional Fighters League, Wilder’s name immediately popped
up as a potential boxing opponent for the former
Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champ.

Ngannou and Wilder’s camps have stated that talks of a potential
clash have already begun. Furthermore, PFL co-owner Donn Davis has
proposed a mixed-rules fight between the Cameroonian and “The
Bronze Bomber.” However, it seems like Wilder is open to competing
in MMA, whether it be against Ngannou or someone else, and another
name has already come up.

Asked if he would get inside an MMA cage with longtime lightweight
and welterweight contender Nate Diaz, the
38-year-old told InsideFighting, “I’ll be down to get in there with
Nate for sure… we going to see there’s only one way to find
out.”

Diaz responded to Wilder’s comments, lauding the former WBC
heavyweight champ for agreeing to fight in MMA. The Stockton,
California native wrote, “Let’s get these contract written up
asap.. Real fight s–t respect to a real fighter down to fight for
real. All love to boxing But this is different REAL s–t LFG 1993
”

Diaz hung up his UFC gloves after a submission win over fellow
veteran Tony
Ferguson in September 2022. Diaz then made a foray into boxing,
dropping a unanimous decision against Jake Paul in
August. Meanwhile, Wilder hasn’t competed since a first-round
knockout win over Finland’s Robert Helenius that saw him bounce
back from consecutive stoppage losses against Fury.

If Wilder fights in mixed martial arts, he would be the first
former champ of a major boxing organization to do so since James Toney
faced Randy
Couture at UFC 118 in August of 2010. On that occasion, “Lights
Out” was quickly taken down by the former amateur wrestling
standout and two-division UFC champ, then submitted with an
arm-triangle choke.