Jake Paul has a lot of lofty ambitions when it comes to his fighting career.
He’s adamant that he will eventually become a boxing world champion but Paul’s progression in level of competition has been more than questionable at times. So far through 10 professional fights, Paul has taken on a social influencer, a former NBA basketball player, four prominent MMA fighters, two journeymen boxers and one fighter seemingly his equal in Tommy Fury. Oh yeah, Fury is the only person to hand Paul a defeat in his career.
In addition to boxing, Paul signed with the PFL after declaring plans to eventually compete in MMA but with each passing day, it seems less and less likely that is actually going to happen. He’s got a boxing match booked in July against BKFC star and former UFC fighter Mike Perry and then a November showdown scheduled with soon-to-be-58-year-old former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson.
Paul also turns 28 in January.
That all seems to add up to a recipe for Paul to stick with boxing rather than testing himself in MMA, especially knowing how much time he would have to dedicate to get ready for a debut fight. PFL color commentator Dan Hardy acknowledges the reality that Paul may just have too much on his plate right now and MMA ends up as the side dish that gets bumped off.
“I think Jake’s got an idea where he wants to go with his career as a celebrity, and I think he’s taking that one step at a time,” Hardy told MMA Fighting. “I think he stepped away from the kind of celebrity style boxing and fought a couple of opponents that weren’t big names and people kind of disengaged a little bit. That’s spurred this fight against Mike Tyson. I don’t mind it. I would never tell Mike Tyson he shouldn’t be fighting no matter what age he is because he’s a scary individual, and if he can get cleared to fight, then game on.
“But for me, Jake’s an interesting individual because he’s kind of carving his own path. Nobody else is doing what Jake Paul’s doing so I can’t really count out his next move. I think the idea ultimately was for Jake Paul to be able to get Nate Diaz in a cage and fight him in mixed martial arts. I know this is a controversial opinion, but I don’t count Jake Paul out against Nate Diaz in an MMA fight. I think he did really well against him in a boxing match and Jake’s got wrestling experience from high school. I think he would be able to at least defend some takedowns and keep it in a range that would suit him.”
Unfortunately as much as Paul wanted that fight, Diaz showed almost no interest in signing with the PFL for even one bout much less facing his former boxing foe in MMA.
Hardy believes at least part of the reason stems from the potential danger that Paul represents as a very high risk, low reward opponent. If Diaz beats an 0-0 fighter, he’s supposed to win that fight but if he loses, it could be devastating for his future prospects.
Whatever the reason might be, Hardy believes there’s little to no chance Diaz actually faces Paul in the cage and that might be part of the reason “The Problem Child” has waned on his pursuit to compete in MMA.
“I think he had his heart set on Nate Diaz and I don’t think Nate Diaz wants to take the risk of sullying his name and his brand by losing to Jake in an MMA fight,” Hardy said. “I hate to say it but after watching the boxing match, I think Jake could potentially be a problem for Nate in MMA.”
Removing Diaz from the equation, Hardy says it’s still incredibly difficult to find the right kind of opponent that would entice Paul to actually crossover into MMA.
With a seemingly endless list of potential opponents in boxing with guaranteed multi-million dollar paydays, MMA may not have the right kind of fight to catch Paul’s attention.
Hardy only has one name in mind that might do the job.
“If we’re doing it, the one that makes the most sense is Tyron Woodley,” Hardy said. “He’s been commentating with the PFL, he does a great job with that. Every time I see him, we have a very frosty handshake. I feel like he still wants to punch me in the face.
“Of course, he’s got that knockout loss to Jake Paul. If I’m Tyron Woodley, I’m putting myself at the front of the line to welcome Jake Paul into MMA. I think that’s the kind of opponent Jake Paul could be enticed by.”
Woodley actually has two losses to Paul in boxing but the second fight ended in devastating fashion with the former UFC welterweight champion face down on the canvas after eating a brutal punch from the social influencer turned fighter.
But Woodley has vastly more experience than Paul does when it comes to MMA, and it’s hard to believe that wouldn’t be seen as a mismatch.
It’s those kinds of problems that will continue to haunt Paul’s potential transition into the sport.
“The challenge, the same as Claressa [Shields] and Savannah [Marshall] crossing over, it’s who do you fight in your first fight?” Hardy theorized. “You’re not going to put Jake Paul in there against Anthony Pettis but then if you give him someone that’s 2-2 in MMA that no one’s heard of, it’s basically a wasted training camp and a fight for him because he could fight Roy Jones Jr. or something. The opponent’s got to be right and that’s the challenge.
“Even if he fought me, I just turned 42, I haven’t fought since 1963, it’s been a while. I train most days, but I’m an old guy. I don’t think Jake would last a round with me in an MMA fight and that’s no disrespect to him. It’s just the reality of the lacking skills that I would imagine he’d have to fill with his training camps. You’ve got to find the right opponent.”