Ahead of his second boxing bout against former champ Tyron Woodley, rookie pro Jake Paul has claimed he will shake up MMA – and he says UFC icon Khabib Nurmagomedov and his team will be involved.
With a 4-0 early career record, the YouTube prankster was set to take on Tommy Fury until the stepbrother of WBC world heavyweight champion Tyson pulled out of their bout, which had been scheduled for Saturday, with a broken rib and chest infection.
Luckily for Paul and those who had bought tickets to the event at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Woodley was available to step in to save the card and will try to avenge a controversial points defeat to Paul in late August.
Not done with trying to prove himself in the squared circle, however, the 24-year-old has spoken of switching to the octagon and challenging the man many call the greatest mixed martial artist of all time in 29-0 ex-UFC lightweight king Khabib Nurmagomedov.
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“I want Khabib; I want to have an MMA match against Khabib. It seems crazy but I think it would be fun,” the Ohio native told TNS this week.
“I’m a superstar: a young fighter with the potential to earn 200, 300, 400 million dollars in this sport if I just win, keep winning and remain undefeated.”
To make that bout happen, Paul would have to coax the Russian out of retirement. Honoring a promise made to his mother to stop fighting after his father Abdulmanap died from Covid complications last year, Nurmagomedov has resisted big-money offers to take on the likes of unbeaten boxing legend Floyd Mayweather, who Jake’s brother, Logan, faced this summer in a farcial exhibition bout.