Getty Jake Paul speaks during a Jake Paul v Anderson Silva press conference.
Social media sensation Jake Paul teased that he is in talks with a big organization for a move to mixed martial arts ahead of his fight with UFC legend.
Paul is scheduled to take on MMA veteran Anderson Silva in a boxing match on Oct. 29 in Phoenix, Arizona. The YouTube influencer turned boxer goes into the bout undefeated in what could possibly be his toughest test yet. He carved out his space in combat sports after defeating former MMA champion Ben Askren with a vicious punch. He went on to beat former UFC welterweight champion, Tyron Woodley, twice, including a brutal knockout that sent Woodley crashing to the mat.
In a recent episode on the “BS w/ Jake Paul” podcast, Paul hinted that he will be getting involved in MMA with an elite promotion.
“I’ve got an announcement coming soon,” Paul said (via My MMA News). “I can just tease that, that I’m working with a big organization right now on a whole thing in MMA that also has to do with me fighting and we’re gonna have an announcement soon. I want to do it.”
Paul Will Train Under Javier Mendez of AKA
‘The Problem Child’ seems to be on his way to making the switch from the boxing ring to the octagon in the next year or two. He shared that he had talked to Javier Mendez of American Kickboxing Academy (AKA), who agreed to train him at the famous gym.
“Javier Mendez said he would train me,” Paul said. “So I’ll go to AKA (American Kickboxing Academy),” he added. “I’ll probably need like a year, year and a half to get the kicks down. I already know jiu-jitsu … I wanna be able to do everything in there. At least checking kicks. I know how to wrestle already.”
Mendez was the famed coach of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and currently mentors Islam Makhachev at the San Jose-based facility. He has also trained decorated athletes including former two-division king Daniel Cormier and ex-middleweight titleholder Luke Rockhold.
Paul Called Out Floyd Mayweather
Paul criticized the boxing icon, Floyd Mayweather, for his latest exhibition win over Mikuru Asakura. He issued a call out to Mayweather to face him at a fair weight.
“Alright ladies and gentlemen. It’s 2022, Floyd Mayweather is ruining his legacy fighting no-name guys, wasting his fans’ money, wasting his fans’ time. He doesn’t even know the names of the guys he’s fighting,” Paul said (transcribed by Bad Left Hook).
“I can’t believe what’s going on in the world,” he added. “I can’t believe this is real. Floyd, I will fight you, and you know that’s one of the biggest fights to make in boxing. I weight 175, you weigh 165, we can get that done, make a couple hundred million dollars. But what will your excuse be?
“You didn’t care what my brother weighed, so why do you care what I weigh? Oh, because you know what’s gonna happen. I want to say ‘I got your 0,’ I don’t just want to say ‘I got your hat.’ But you’re gonna find a way to dance around this.”