The American ‘youtuber’ Jake Paul signed this Thursday with the promoter of mixed martial arts Professional League of Fighters (PFL, for its acronym in English) to play two fights in 2023, one in boxing and another in MMA.
Paul, who has 17.4 million followers on YouTube alone, will join a new division dubbed ‘Super Fight’ intended for combat with influential people and celebrities who have a certain “combat skill level”.
The roadmap goes through a first boxing fight and, between 4 and 6 months later, making his MMA debut.. The rivals have not been confirmed, but Jake Paul asks Nate Diaz, a former UFC fighter: “I would beat Nate Diaz in an MMA fight. There’s nothing he could do.”
“He has a growing boxing career, but that doesn’t stop him from getting into the sport of MMA.and that excites us, ”said Peter Murray, executive director of the American promoter.
Paul and his partner, Nakisa Bidarian, are among the founders of the division and will go on to own stakes in PFL, although financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
The American will also hold the position of “head of defense for fighters” and will create content on social networks. His partner, Bidarian -former financial director of the UFC-, will collaborate in the logistics of the pay-per-view events.
Paul turns to mixed martial arts after venturing into boxing and meeting MMA fighters such as Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley and Anderson Silva, the last two former UFC champions. In this ‘Super Fight’ division, the fighters will take at least 50% of the pay-per-view. The fights will be distributed by ESPN and DAZN.
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