Israel Adesanya knew Jake Paul was "no joke" after a conversation they had following Paul's knockout win over Nate Robinson.
Adesanya commentated Paul's fight against Robinson in 2020 in which Paul knocked out the former NBA player and left him face-first on the canvas.
Paul approached Adesanya after the fight and shared his praise of the UFC star, with the pair discussing Paul's win and recent move into boxing.
The UFC star was later seen partying at Paul's house with celebrities such as rapper Snoop Dogg and YouTuber Bradley Martyn.
And Adesanya said he realised Paul was serious about boxing after having a long talk with him at his house.
"Nah, Jake Paul's no joke man. When he fought Nate Robinson, I was there. I commentated that fight, right. And, I ended up at his house later on and I didn't realise how big of a fan he was," Adesanya told ' Ignore The Noise '.
"For me, to commentate that fight I had to study what he did from Disney and that's what kind of made me know 'ok, this is what this kid's history his'.
"Being at his house, talking to him, we talked for a long time and then I kind of realised, like, man, this guy, he's crazy. And guess what? Those are the ones that get it done."
"He was serious about boxing. People just thought, like, he's just doing this for fun, he's just doing this to try and make money, or get clout or whatever, but I was like, no. He's got all the funds. All the access to be able to get it done."
Paul recently returned to his boxing gym in Puerto Rico ahead of a potential return to the ring, despite initially planning to take seven months off after he knocked out Tyron Woodley last December.
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Last month he booked Amanda Serrano, who is signed to Paul's management label Most Valuable Promotions, in an undisputed lightweight title fight against Katie Taylor.
Adesanya thinks Paul will eventually fight a "real boxer" and wants the 25-year-old to fight Tommy Fury next.
He continued: "I know he'll want to test himself. I want that [Tommy] Fury fight. That's the one that's gonna be like 'right this is gonna check where his real level of boxing his'.
"I think that's a sellable fight, a very lucrative fight. They should do that later on."
Fury withdrew from a fight against Paul last December and 'The Problem Child' has since dismissed the possibility of rescheduling the bout.
Paul could target a fight against former middleweight world titleholder Julio Cesar Chavez Jr when he returns to the ring.
