Jake Paul wants to embarrass MMA cult hero Nate Diaz so he can entice Conor McGregor back into the ring

• Jake Paul said it will be hard for him to get boxing matches after he batters Ben Askren.
• People will start thinking: "Do we want to lose to the Disney channel actor?" he said.
• Regardless, he is still chasing boxing fights against Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor.

Internet sensation Jake Paul said he plans on fighting, and embarrassing, the MMA cult hero Nate Diaz so he can lure the former two-weight UFC champion Conor McGregor back into the boxing ring.

"Nate Diaz is down to fight me," Paul, 24, told MMA Junkie this week. "We'll see what happens. I'm excited. This is just the start of an illustrious career."

A novice pro boxer, Paul has an undefeated record of two knockout wins after famously scoring a brutal finish over the former NBA player Nate Robinson on the acclaimed showbiz boxing event in November 2020.

After beating two men who aren't fighters, Paul is now aiming high, setting his sights on boxing matches against some of the biggest names in UFC history.

He already has an April 17 bout against the former MMA champion Ben Askren scheduled, and Paul told the MMA site that he worries it will be hard for him to get fights after he poleaxes Askren.

"People are going to be surprised, and it's going to be hard for me to get a fight after this, to be honest. It really is," Paul said.

"People are going to see my performance and say, 'Let's really second guess ourselves here because, do we want to lose to the Disney channel actor, boxer kid?"

Paul calls himself a 'evil genius'

If he beats Askren, Paul wants Nate Diaz, although not until 2022.

"I think Nate Diaz will probably happen first," he said.

"Once I beat Nate Diaz, once I embarrass him actually, I will be undeniable to McGregor because I will say, 'Hey, bubba. Listen to me, guy, you little Irish guy: I beat the guy who beat you. So you have to fight me.'

"That's why this is so exciting. It's one step at a time. It's one fight at a time.

"I still have a major milestone ahead of me April 17 [but] ten years from now I'll be coming to watch these interviews, and I'll be like: 'Damn, this kid was a little evil genius, predicting all of this.'"

Before his forays into the ring, Paul built his reputation as a popular, but polarizing, YouTube vlogger. He has a litany of controversies to his name, including an FBI search of his California mansion, and pranks that infuriated his neighbors so much they described the local streets as a "war zone."

There was even an illegitimate wedding to his fellow internet personality Tana Mongeau, who had a family emergency the following day and found out Paul continued with their planned honeymoon where he was later seen on video surrounded by models in bikinis.

Away from YouTube, however, Paul appears to be taking boxing seriously - and though he is seen trolling the combat sports elite, he seemingly has every intention of fighting them all using boxing's rules.