Riding the wave of his recent success inside the boxing ring which has led him to a professional record of 6-0 โ though not without an asterisk or two โ Jake Paul has now inked a multi-year mixed martial arts (MMA) contract to compete in the Professional Fighters League, placing himself on a potential collision course to finally taste some pugilistic justice.
According to The New York Times, the 25-year-old internet personality-turned-professional boxerโs contract with the PFL involves competing in a brand new Super Fight division featuring influencers and celebrities โwho show some level of fighting proficiencyโ in bouts against established professional fighters, made available to the public via pay-per-view. Because as everyone knowsโฆ the man doesnโt do anything unless thereโs a guarantee of major $$$.
โHeโs got a growing boxing career, but it doesnโt prevent him from entering into the sport of MMA, and weโre excited about that,โ said PFL CEO Peter Murray.
RELATED: Paddy Pimblett Accepts Jake Paulโs $1 Million Boxing Challenge
โIโve already disrupted boxing and now itโs time to disrupt MMA.โ
Jake Paul
So how slash why has this been allowed to happen?
Itโs been pointed out that Nakisa Bidarian, Paulโs business partner and former CFO of the UFC, has equity in the PFL; and is a founder of this new division alongside Paul himself. Paul has also agreed to serve as Head of Fighter Advocacy โ โa fancy title that means heโll post on social media about the PFL to his millions of followers,โ notes Kris Rhim of The New York Times.
As for the latter, it would appear the oft-controversial YouTuber is looking to address some of the recurring criticisms heโs faced throughout his career as a combat sports athlete, i.e. he cherry-picks opponents that simply look good on paper/opponents beyond their prime/opponents that were never known for their striking, and would crumble in a โreal testโ within the cage.
At the time of this writing, Jake Paul does not have a bout scheduled, but he reportedly plans to participate in a proper MMA fight this year. And in true Problem Child fashion, heโs already been calling out A-list names that would certainly make for extremely enjoyable viewing.
โNate Diaz Iโm down to fight you in your own damn sport. Letโs make it happen,โ Paul said of his proposal to throw hands with the UFC retiree and combat sports free agent in a boxing match before facing off under MMA rules just six months later.
โIf thatโs not balls, then I donโt know what is.โ
He added: โI would beat Nate Diaz up in an MMA fight. Thereโs nothing he could do. To me, Iโve always felt like Iโve jumped in the deep end, even in boxing, maybe besides, like, Ben Askren.โ
RELATED: Logan Paul Signs Contract With UFC (Just Not The One You Were Hoping For)
Jake Paul has often cited his high school experience as a wrestler as well as the two years of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training undertaken in his childhood as compelling evidence regarding his hypothetical success in MMA. Now, weโll get to find out for certain. Again (see: the hilariously one-sided experiment above).
โThe biggest thing for me would be getting the kicks down,โ said Paul.
โBut Iโm going to start now, moving forward with some extra time I have within this camp. Iโm going to put in some extra time, rolling around doing some jujitsu and learning some kicks.โ
While some of you may be sceptical about all this, rest assured, the talent signed to the Professional Fighters League ainโt no joke: ranging from former UFC stars such as Fabricio Werdum and Anthony Pettis โ who has offered to โwelcomeโ Jake Paul to the world of MMA should Nate Diaz pass up on the aforementioned challenge โ to the dominant Olympic gold medallist and judo champion Kayla Harrison (think the promotionโs equivalent to Ronda Rousey + Amanda Nunes).
Interesting times.
Side note: one-time rematches between any of Jake Paulโs fallen boxing opponents โ Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley, Anderson Silva โ under MMA rules would truly be a sight to behold.
RELATED: Former UFC Champ Francis Ngannou Inks Contract With PFL
