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Jake Paul targets 2027 for MMA debut
LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 16: Jake Paul (center) is seen as Ronda Rousey (left) defeated Gina Carano (right) by submission via a first-round armbar at the 17-second mark during their Featherweight Bout (145lbs) of the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) on Saturday night's main card event at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood of Los Angeles, California, United States on May 16, 2026. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images) | Anadolu via Getty Images
Jake Paul insists he still plans to compete in MMA and now aims to make his debut under that rule set in 2027.
Following the announcement of his Most Valuable Promotions organization merging with PFL to form a new MMA powerhouse, Paul spoke to ESPN about the news and his own combat sports crossover aspirations. Paul has already carved out a name for himself in the world of boxing, going from famous internet personality to jumping into the ring with the likes of Mike Tyson, Anderson Silva, Nate Diaz, and Anthony Joshua, the latter of whom handed Paul just his second defeat this past December.
According to Paul, it’s only a matter of time until he makes the move from the ring to the cage.
“I’ve been trying to make it happen for a long time and it’s really just come down to negotiations behind the scenes,” Paul said. “I’m going to go come back hopefully later this year into boxing and then looking to do MMA in 2027.”
Paul’s relationship with PFL actually began in 2023, when he signed a multi-year deal with the league. His role was unclear, though he used his platforms to promote the PFL while also stating his intention to compete in MMA. However, Paul’s contract with PFL ended in 2026 with no fight ever having occurred.
Asked how boxing training compares to MMA training, Paul admitted he’s yet to find out firsthand.
“I don’t know, that’s the funny part,” Paul said. “I’ve never even done a single day of MMA training. I have a wrestling background, I grew up Division-I Ohio wrestling in high school, but I’ve never actually said, ‘Hey, today we’re training MMA.’
“So I’d imagine it’s very similar to boxing. Intensive, taking a lot of punishment, the cardio, the non-stop two-a-days. The recovery is all probably pretty similar, but I’m going to have to split up the boxing, the kickboxing, the kicks, the jiu-jitsu, the wrestling, all into different training sessions and I’ve never done that before.”
Until Paul actually straps on the MMA gloves himself, he’s content to be one of the faces of the MVP-PFL merger. The inaugural MVP MMA event this past May, headlined by the returning Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano, drew a massive number on Netflix, peaking at 17 million viewers for the main event.
Paul believes joining forces with the deep PFL roster sets MVP MMA up as legitimate competition for the UFC.
“I think it’s a one-of-a-kind combat sports organization now with even more capital infused to continue to grow at the rate we have,” Paul said. “We’ve already set records with our fights, most-watched MMA event in U.S. history, most-watched boxing event, but now we have the PFL roster underneath us.
“Four hundred fighters when you combine both entities and just more infrastructure to grow everything and that’s really why ‘1+1 = 3’ here, why we decided to team up with PFL to really go and change the landscape and give fighters the opportunity to have the viewership and the big paydays and to go ahead and compete with the UFC head to head.”
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