Jake Paul has emerged as a huge draw in the boxing game, and he’s set his sights on a UFC star as his next possible combatant.
Paul and Jorge Masvidal, whose five-second knockout of Ben Askren in 2019 was the fastest in UFC history, sparred back and forth online Monday.
“Let’s make it happen,” Paul said of a bout with Masvidal, offering him $5 million plus a cut of pay-per-view sales. “Daddy Dana [White] just has to let you out of your contract. You work for the UFC, you’re a bitch.”
Masvidal opted to counterpunch.
“1. The UFC isn’t gonna let me go for chump change,” the 37-year-old welterweight, responded on Twitter. “2. Make that 20 guaranteed plus PPV and I’m sure the UFC will be ok with it as long as I break them off their fee and then I’ll gladly break your face.”
Masvidal would be switching combat forms from MMA to boxing for the fight. Paul has already beaten former UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley twice, most recently this past weekend via knockout. Paul, a YouTube star, is now 5-0 as a boxer.
Masvidal, seemingly intent on dealing Paul his first professional loss, even tried to work within his UFC parameters.
“If the UFC still says no because the money is still too low then come over to the UFC, sign a 1 fight deal and we can stipulate I can only box in the cage,” Masvidal tweeted. “If I do anything other than that I will forfeit my purse to you. Come on over and get paid and laid out.”
As a considerable draw, Paul is going to have a lot of fighters and other athletes trying to get a piece of him — and the paycheck that would come along with the fight. Ex-Jets running back Le’Veon Bell — who reportedly signed with the Tampa Buccaneers on Tuesday, pending a physical — challenged Paul to a fight, but Paul asked him to go through Woodley first.
Masvidal certainly won’t be the last name that comes up in chatter before Paul signs his next fight. Where the bout ends up is anybody’s guess.