$20m offer to UFC legend for Jake Paul's MMA debut

The PFL has upped its offer to lure UFC legend Nate Diaz into an MMA bout with Jake Paul after it purchased rival company Bellator.

Paul beat Diaz in a boxing match earlier this year before immediately calling for a rematch under different rules.

However, Diaz has distanced himself from fighting Paul in PFL, despite the PFL initially offering a $US10million ($15 million AUD) fee.

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Now, PFL boss Donn Davis has gone public with his latest offer to Diaz.

"I just want to leave the light on and I want to say, 'here's $15 million, here's Jake, we have all the infrastructure at PFL and we're easy to work with,'" Davis told The MMA Hour.

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Nate Diaz has said he'll fight Jake Paul in PFL is the contest is co-promoted.

"Ding, the light's on … $10 to 15 [million]. I'm just letting him know, the range is there. There's a higher end of the range and a lower end of the range. Like, beep, the light's on."

If Diaz were to accept the $15 million ($22 million AUD) on offer it would be the biggest pay day of his 35-fight career.

Diaz's UFC contract expired in late 2022 and apart from his boxing match against Paul, has not expressed a desire to get back in the the cage.

Paul will continue his boxing career when he takes on little-known American professional Andre August, who is 10-1-1, at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida on December 15.

DALLAS, TEXAS - AUGUST 05: Jake Paul, left, and Nate Diaz, right, trade punches during the third round of their fight at the American Airlines Center on August 05, 2023 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)

Despite potential bouts with Tommy Fury and KSI in the pipeline, Paul is expected to debut in MMA for PFL at the end of 2024 against a yet-to-be-named opponent.

"Jake was always Q4," Davis told The MMA Hour on Monday.

"For him to get good, in his standards, for an MMA fight that is legitimate, he says he needs that year.

"He started training a month ago in the Smart Cage down in his home.

"I think that is October-December 2024."

Davis added that Diaz would be the perfect dance partner for Paul in his first MMA bout.

"He's a people's champion," Davis said of Diaz. "We respect Nate. If he accepted that fight, the fans would love that fight and we would love to have him do that fight and we're offering him more money than other people because that's respect.

"One thing about Nate or fighters or entrepreneurs, they're their own men. They do what they want to do. Nate will do it when he wants to do it so I'm just trying to create a canvas that we're open for business."

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