Jake Paul’s eyes are still firmly set on competing against two of MMA’s most popular fighters.
On June 1, former UFC stars Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz collide in a boxing bout that serves as a rematch of sorts of their UFC 244 “BMF” title fight that Masvidal won via doctor stoppage. Masvidal recently appeared on The MMA Hour to promote the Diaz fight and he took a moment to cut a promo on Paul, explaining why the YouTuber-turned-boxer is beneath him.
Paul has previously stated interest in fighting both Masvidal and Diaz under MMA rules, and he’s unsure why neither have taken him up on his offer.
“The one thing I will say, they’re digging their own grave,” Paul said on his BS podcast. “I’m being so serious when I say that I want to fight them in MMA. Either Masvidal or Diaz in the PFL. Ten million dollar offer for either one of those guys. Again, they will literally hide behind the fact — Masvidal, ‘You can’t even box. What the f*** are you going to do coming over to MMA, bro? I’m f****** from Miami, Florida, bro. F****** f*** you, dude, don’t disrespect me you f****** jamoke.’ F****** bird brain, that’s what he hides behind.
“Same with f****** Paddy [Pimblett] and Sean Strickland, all of these guys hide behind these crazy things, but still none of them have shown up to the table to talk any business about anything to make anything actually happen in a real fight, a real spar. Whatever it is. So the offer still stands there. I want either one of those guys in MMA.”
Paul and Diaz met in a boxing match this past August, with Paul earning a decision win over the MMA fan favorite. In the lead-up to their fight, Paul offered Diaz $10 million to meet him in an MMA bout with the PFL, an offer that Diaz scoffed at. Paul has also made overtures to spar former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland, but Strickland claims the UFC did not allow him to accept Paul’s $1 million offer.
That’s one part of the story that Paul confirmed, and he thinks it’s because the UFC is scared of what he might do to their fighters.
“That’s why they don’t want Masvidal to box me,” Paul said. “That’s why Masvidal is allowed to box. The UFC gave Masvidal a list of 35 names that he was allowed to box. He’s technically still under UFC contract, so they’re letting him out of his contract to box Nate, but there’s 35 other names and I was not on it.”
Up next for “The Problem Child” is an unexpected boxing match with heavyweight legend Mike Tyson, which airs live on Netflix on July 20 from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Once that business is settled, Paul is open to the possibility of making his MMA debut under the PFL banner.
“Obviously, I have Mike, but we’ll just do it after that,” Paul said. “I would do like a six-month camp [to work on MMA].”