Jake Paul started by dominating YouTube along with his brother Logan Paul, but surprisingly, they also have started to dominate combat sports! The Paul brothers have come a long way from their early careers and transitioned into legitimate contenders in the world of combat sports. However, it does not end here because Jake Paul not only wants to be a legend in boxing, but now wants to transition into MMA and has some top contenders in mind.

Youtuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, and former undisputed heavyweight champ Mike Tyson, will set the stage ablaze when they face each other at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on November 15, 2024. However, even before the fight is about to commence, Paul is already thinking about his future in combat sports. As we eagerly await Jake Paul’s next move, we have a little update from none other than the PFL CEO Peter Murray. The CEO sat down with Essentially Sports to have an exclusive interview and give important details on Jake Paul’s move to MMA.

He spoke to Raj Sarkar and gave us a detailed take on what was being planned for Jake Paul in 2025 and who he might fight when he comes into MMA. Murray confessed in the ES Exclusive Interview that Jake Paul was surely expected to make his professional MMA debut in 2025 with PFL. He complimented the YouTuber-turned-boxer, saying, “You know Jake, you know, he continues to blaze his new trail you know; for himself, as you know, a major voice and culture. And now an incredible athlete and boxer and he is doing it his way, which is pretty inspirational and he has got a strong point of view. He is an advocate for athletes. That’s why we love Jake. He’s all about the big stage and mega events, so we are excited to usher Jake into MMA next year and there is a list of top; top MMA fighters who would like to be that opponent.”

As soon as he gave a hint of the fact that Jake Paul had some names that he would like to fight, we decided to ask him about some of the names that were on the list. He obliged and further added, “There are several athletes you know from; Nate Diaz, Masvidal others you know? Who would like to have a piece of that event with Jake? So, he’s gonna have his options, and it’s gonna be a mega global event.”

However, before that, he is going to fight Mike Tyson, which is going to be another massive fight. The CEO pointed out during the Essentially Sports exclusive interview that they even spoke to Francis Ngannou before the mega-fight with Tyson, since the former has practiced with ‘Iron’ Mike. On top of that, Murray also mentioned that Jake is interested in only fighting well-rounded MMA fighters who have a credible resume. This is why he was targeting fighters like Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal.

Interestingly, Jake Paul and Nate Diaz have had a feud going on for quite a while, so when Murray gave us that name, it was not so shocking!

Jake Paul was upset when Nate Diaz refused to fight him

After defeating Masvidal in their boxing match, the fighter from Stockton had announced that he was open to challenges in the ring and called out Jake Paul for a rematch. However, he might have forgotten that he had declined an offer for the rematch in the past. This is why the Youtuber turned boxer ridiculed him after hearing his plea.

Paul had defeated Diaz via a unanimous decision when the two had fought in August 2023. After this fight, PFL offered to create a rematch between the duo in the Smart Cage. According to ‘The Problem Child,’ a $15 million offer was also on the cards for Diaz as an incentive. However, later on, Peter Murray gave an interview for SunSport, and affirmed the statements that Jake Paul had made. However, Diaz was silent during the whole ordeal.

Yet after winning against ‘Gamebred,’ he said, “Leon Edwards, Jake Paul, and anybody the f— else, you’re dead!” This surprised Paul and he decided to remind Diaz that in the past, he had already turned down an offer for a rematch. ‘The Problem Child’ revealed his opponent’s hypocrisy and said, “F–k you Nate Diaz you’re a h-e who ducked my PFL $15m MMA offer.”

Apart from that, Jake Paul had also ridiculed Masvidal after the latter had lost to an opponent that Paul had conquered in August 2023. All in all, calling out these two names seems pretty sensible for Paul. Surprisingly, even Matt Brown has a positive outlook on Paul and crossover fights. He confessed that in an ES Exclusive Fancast interview. He said that he liked watching the boxer fight because it was entertaining.

Since the PFL CEO has already given us a hint that the next MMA fight for Paul might be against Diaz or Masvidal, who are you most excited to see?