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ESPN Staff Writer- Marc Raimondi's first year covering the Falcons was 2024, but it wasn't his first year at ESPN. He joined the company in 2019 and was a top combat sports reporter. He also covered professional wrestling and wrote the book "Say Hello to the Bad Guys: How Pro Wrestling's New World Order Changed America," which was published by Simon & Schuster in 2025. Raimondi also worked for the New York Post and Newsday, beginning in 2009, covering high school and college sports, plus the NFL, NFL, MLB and NHL.
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ESPN Staff Writer- Michael Rothstein, based in Atlanta, is a reporter on ESPN's investigative and enterprise team. You can follow him via Twitter @MikeRothstein.
DALLAS -- In Jake Paul's battle against MMA fighters, he remains undefeated.
The YouTuber-turned-prizefighter defeated Nate Diaz via unanimous decision (97-92, 98-91, 98-91) Saturday night at a sold-out American Airlines Center. Paul hurt Diaz in the first round and it seemed like he would cruise or finish the fight early. But Diaz hung in and made it a dogfight throughout.
"He's a warrior," Paul said in his postfight interview. "I had him in the first round. He kept on coming. No one has taken that much damage. All credit to my team and my conditioning."
Paul challenged Diaz to an MMA fight afterward. Diaz seemed receptive to it. Paul and PFL have a standing $10 million offer for Diaz to do it. Diaz said it would have to be co-promoted by Real Fight Inc.
"I'll fight anybody," Diaz said. "I don't give a f---."
Paul dropped Diaz in the fifth round, but Diaz was able to recover. Diaz joked about getting Paul in a guillotine choke in the 10th and final round.
Paul, 26, came in with boxing wins over former UFC champions Anderson Silva and Tyron Woodley (two, including one by knockout), plus another knockout over former MMA champion Ben Askren. He has been a pro boxer since 2020. Diaz, 38, was making his professional boxing debut. The bout was contested at 185 pounds, the heaviest weight Diaz has fought at in his long career.
Diaz spent 17 years in the UFC and was one of the promotion's biggest stars. He choked out Conor McGregor, handing McGregor his first UFC loss, in 2016. Diaz left the UFC as a free agent following a win over Tony Ferguson last September. He started his own promotion, Real Fight Inc., and vowed to look for the biggest and most interesting fights -- on his terms.
