It’s been greater than two years since Jake Paul signed a contract with the PFL to not solely function an envoy for the model, but additionally to finally transition into MMA to battle for the group as nicely.
Whereas Paul has continued to tease his curiosity in MMA, the now 28-year-old fighter appears extra targeted than ever on his boxing profession after staging one of many most-watched occasions of 2024 together with his showdown in opposition to Mike Tyson that aired on Netflix. Recently, Paul has taken intention at former heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua and even reignited a feud with Tommy Fury — the one individual at hand him a defeat in his boxing profession — however mentions about him doing MMA have dwindled dramatically.
PFL analyst Dan Hardy, who as soon as touted a possible battle between Paul and Nate Diaz as the proper matchup to welcome the former social influencer into MMA, now admits that it appears much less and fewer seemingly that “The Drawback Little one” — or extra not too long ago “El Gallo” — truly makes the transfer.
“Can we ever see him in MMA? I don’t suppose so,” Hardy instructed MMA Combating. “I believe he’s fairly targeted on boxing.
“It’s numerous work for him to cross over to blended martial arts, and he’s not going to battle anyone that you simply’ve by no means heard of earlier than. It’s going to should be an honest title or in any other case folks gained’t watch it. Even previous guys in MMA might nonetheless deal with enterprise, I believe, with Jake Paul.”
When he first turned an expert boxer, Paul feasted on MMA fighters crossing over into that sport after he eradicated names like Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley earlier than finally scoring wins in opposition to Anderson Silva, Nate Diaz and Mike Perry.
To really pull a reverse and take an MMA battle, Paul would nearly definitely should put boxing on maintain for a number of months if not longer to completely deal with all the weapons he would want to compete in a promotion just like the PFL.
Making issues even more durable, Paul was nearing a deal to battle multi-division champion Canelo Alvarez earlier than the rug acquired pulled out from underneath him when the Mexican-born boxer signed a last-minute deal to start out combating for Saudi Arabia royal advisor Turki Alalshikh and Riyadh Season as an alternative.
In different phrases, Paul has his sights set on the largest boxing matches attainable proper now.
Whereas nothing is ever set in stone, Paul has seemingly set MMA to the facet whereas he places his full deal with his boxing profession shifting ahead.
“I’m not seeing him making any strikes in that route, definitely from my perspective,” Hardy mentioned. “He known as out Anthony Joshua the opposite day did he not? He’s definitely making issues fascinating for the fight sports activities world.
“He’s positively a disruptor. That’s the primary function that he’s serving proper now. He’s a profit to the PFL in that regard as nicely.”
