On Saturday night, Jake Paul and Nate Diaz spent 10 entertaining rounds in the boxing ring together. It's hard to believe two people from such absurdly different worlds could end up in a professional fight together and even harder to believe that the fight was as entertaining as it was, but it's 2023, and pretty much anything is possible these days.

While Diaz had his moments in the fight and won at least a round on most viewers' scorecards, he was unable to land any serious shots himself and struggled to deal with Paul's power and physical advantages. He also suffered the lone knockdown of the fight, crashing through the ropes after chowing down on a hook, so it was no surprise when all three judges scored the fight for Paul by wide margins.

Having said that, Diaz gave his fans almost everything they hoped for in the fight—aside from the win. He flaunted incredible toughness, unleashed plenty of mid-fight taunting and trash talk and even got a huge pop from the crowd by pretending to go for a guillotine choke in the final round.

Despite the loss, it's possible he is more popular than ever after his spirited effort. The implication of that is that he should still be able to lock up a few more huge fights—and huge paydays—before he decides to hang up his gloves for good.

Here are five options we think make sense for Diaz's next fight, spanning boxing, MMA, and more.

An MMA Rematch with Jake Paul in the PFL

Jake Paul came out on top in his boxing match with Nate Diaz, but was quick to offer the UFC a veteran a rematch in MMA—with a $10 million payday attached.

That's both a generous offer and a risky gamble on Paul's part, as he would more than likely be choked out by Diaz inside a round or two.

Having said that, it would be a huge fight, no matter who promoted it.

In terms of promoters, it would seemingly have to involve the PFL, who signed Paul to much acclaim last year. However, Paul's promotion would most likely have to be involved too and if Diaz's post-fight interview is any indication, he won't be taking any fights that aren't co-promoted by his new outfit, Real Fight Inc.

Suffice it to say that there are a lot of things that need to happen for a Paul vs. Diaz MMA rematch to materialize, but both guys seem to be interested, and you can be certain the PFL will be ready to move mountains to make this fight happen inside their SmartCage.

A Return to the UFC

Ahead of his fight with Jake Paul, Nate Diaz repeatedly expressed interest in returning to MMA for his next challenge. He even admitted to having some newfound appreciation for the UFC, which seems to be the only MMA promotion he's interested in fighting for.

While it seems Diaz has renewed interest in the UFC, it will be very interesting to see if the UFC is still interested in him. He held his own in his fight with Paul, but it was still a tough loss, and UFC brass may decide he is no longer worth his own price tag.

However, UFC president Dana White did recently refer to the promotion as Diaz's "house"—this was right after Diaz's contract expired—so maybe a reunion is possible.

If it happens, the biggest fight for Diaz is clearly a trilogy fight with Conor McGregor. The two are tied 1-1 across two fights—both of which were electrifying— and remain two of the biggest stars in MMA history. A tiebreaker will always be big business for the promotion.

The obvious caveat to that is McGregor still has to re-enter the USADA testing pool and will have to undergo six months of testing when that's done. There's no point in talking about his next fight until that happens.

The good news for Diaz, if he returns to the UFC, is that there's a great plan B if McGregor is unavailable: Dustin Poirier.

Poirier is riding a brutal knockout loss to Justin Gaethje, but remains both a world-class lightweight and a fan favorite. He and Diaz have also exchanged plenty of words in the past and were even briefly booked to fight in 2018, so there's some history between them.

It wouldn't be as big as a McGregor trilogy, but it could easily headline a pay-per-view.

Another Influencer Boxing Match

As we covered above, there's no guarantee that the UFC will take Diaz back after his fight with Jake Paul. If they don't, it's possible he could sign with a promotion like the PFL or Bellator, but another boxing match seems like the more likely option.

Luckily, Diaz still has plenty of options in the boxing ring—as long as he's willing to continue fighting influencers of Jake's ilk.

Two of the highest profile options in that regard would be Jake's older brother Logan, or Logan's business partner and fellow YouTube star KSI.

Neither Logan nor KSI have shown quite the same commitment to boxing as Jake, but both have dabbled and generated a lot of buzz in the process. In fact, it's arguable that their 2018 exhibition bout kickstarted the whole influencer boxing trend.

Logan hasn't fought since a 2021 exhibition against Floyd Mayweather, which went all eight rounds, but he is expected to return at a Misfits Boxing card on October 14 in Manchester, England. KSI will co-headline the same card, taking on Tommy Fury, who famously handed Jake his first L in the boxing ring earlier this year.

No matter how Logan and KSI's next fights go, they will both be big enough stars to lasso a fight with Diaz—even if it is considered a total mockery.

A Floyd Mayweather Exhibition

Anyone who's been paying attention to the combat sports headlines over the last year is well aware of Floyd Mayweather's controversial exhibition tour.

First he fought kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa in the Rizin ring, then it was sloppy clash with Logan Paul, then a procession of laughable matchups against Don Moore, Mikuru Asakura, KSI's little brother Deji, Aaron Chalmers, and John Gotti III. Each contest has been more absurd than the one that proceeded it, and it's now abundantly clear that Mayweather doesn't care who his opponent is, so long as he's getting paid and there's no chance of the outcome affecting his glimmering 50-0 pro record.

There is surely some bored billionaire out there who would happily pay to have Mayweather fight Diaz.

Diaz is a much bigger name than anybody Mayweather has fought over the last few years except for Logan Paul, and the two have both proven they know how to sell pay-per-views, so it makes sense from a business perspective. And while Diaz would almost certainly be embarrassed in this potential bout with one of the greatest boxers of all time, it seems like the kind of opportunity that would motivate him to train hard.

We're not saying this should happen, or even that we want it to, but in 2023, it seems like a real possibility.

A Fight with Mike Perry

One legitimately fun possibility for Diaz that hasn't been discussed much is a fight with his fellow UFC veteran "Platinum" Mike Perry.

While Perry never achieved Diaz-level fame in the UFC, he was a pretty big star himself by the time he left the promotion in 2021, and has become even more beloved over the course of three violent wins in the BKFC ring. His recent knockout win over former UFC middleweight champ Luke Rockhold felt like a particularly star-making performance.

He also happens to be a free agent, having finished up his BKFC contract after the Rockhold fight.

The implication is that a fight between Perry and Diaz could happen anywhere, from the BKFC ring to the PFL or Bellator cage. It could even be contested under boxing rules, now that both guys have some experience in that arena.

One way or the other, it would definitely generate a ton of excitement among fans, and it's hard to imagine the two UFC veterans failing to entertain in the buildup or the fight itself, as they're both known for their trash talk and habit of exciting scraps.

Perry recently called Conor McGregor his "dream fight." Given that McGregor is still under contract with the UFC, that one seems like a long shot, but he would surely consider Diaz a solid consolation prize.