Getty Jake Paul gets a reaction at UFC 261.
Social media sensation Jake Paul is having “conversations” with a mixed martial promotion.
That’s according to the Professional Fighters League CEO, Peter Murray.
In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Murray said that the PFL is currently speaking with “The Problem Child.”
This comes at the heels of Paul’s challenge to UFC president Dana White, which involved The Problem Child retiring from boxing and fighting Jorge Masvidal inside the Octagon.
The UFC president didn’t directly respond to Paul’s challenge, which had conditions like the UFC increasing fighter pay, and White has never shown interest in partnering with Paul.
Well, the PFL appears all in on working with the YouTuber.
“Hey, listen, you know, if any major athlete that is considering and wants to get into MMA, of course the PFL is in the conversation,” Murray said via the outlet. “What the PFL is about is offering fighters opportunities and fans access to great events. Jake has certainly got a large global following. He’s got a strong point of view. He’s a real athlete, and he’s established himself in boxing. And, you know, if he’s looking at MMA as that next opportunity in parallel, perhaps with boxing, of course we’re going to have a conversation.”
Paul is 5-0 as a licensed professional boxer and he holds two wins over former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, including one via a devastating KO. He’s also TKO’d ex-Bellator and ONE welterweight champion Ben Askren and knocked out former NBAer Nate Robinson.
Paul’s expressed interest in transitioning to MMA at some point, even saying he plans to work with former UFC lightweight king Khabib Nurmagomedov before his debut.
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Bellator Is Also Open to Promoting Jake Paul
Bellator president Scott Coker recently told MMA Junkie that he’d “gladly” sign The Problem Child if he decides to compete in MMA.
“If you want to come into MMA, we would gladly do it,” Coker said. “Think about this: He’s not saying, ‘I’m going to go train here. I’m going to go train there.’ He’s going to come to one of the best gyms in the planet, where Khabib is, where Daniel Cormier is still training, where Cain Velasquez is teaching there now, and he’s going to go into an environment that he is going to flourish, and he has a wrestling background already. He has great striking, obviously. You’ve seen it, and so this guy is just going to get better and better and better. The days of him fighting basketball players or whatever, those days are over.”
“He wants to do it. The only thing I will say is, my understanding is he wants to get 10 fights into boxing, and then after that come over to mixed martial arts.”
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Coker Continued, Says Don’t ‘Underestimate’ the Paul Brothers
Paul’s older brother Logan Paul has also dabbled in boxing, and he fought Floyd Mayweather Jr. last year in an eight-round exhibition match. Coker said that the Paul brothers shouldn’t be “underestimated.”
“I know certain people feel a certain way, but I tell you, don’t underestimate these guys because when they have their minds made up, it just seems like that they’re able to fulfill their destiny, and so to me, it’s something that if they want to make it happen, we would love to do something with them and put them in some big fights and really test them out,” Coker said.
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