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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Ben Davies

Jake Paul outlines purse demand for fight with UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov

Jake Paul would demand up to $35million to consider stepping in the cage with Khabib Nurmagomedov.

The YouTube star had a hugely successful year in 2021 earning over £30m in the boxing ring for a victory over Ben Askren followed by two successive wins over Tyron Woodley.

He has hinted at a future in mixed martial arts and has called out Jorge Masvidal as part of an offer to UFC president Dana White.

However he has admitted any future in MMA would be in the "medium-term" with no offer presented by any promotion considered worthy of abandoning his boxing exploits.

"Not in the near future," Paul told the MMA Hour about a potential switch to MMA. "I would need to practice my kicks for like two years unless the money was right.

Jake Paul has started his MMA training (Twitter/JakePaul)

"No-one has brought anything to the table, even Khabib said they offered me a deal but it's not true. I would need more than what I make in boxing to risk what I would make in MMA right now.

"People would have to come with $25- $35million to even begin a conversation with me. But I would fight Khabib in MMA if they wanted to make that offer. That would excite me if they wanted to make that offer.

"The fight would be massive right, would probably sell a million to two million pay-per-view buys. All I would have to do is practice my wrestling because I think I could out-strike him standing up."

Nurmagomedov is unlikely to compete in the cage professionally after promising his mother he would step away from the sport after the death of his father Abdulmanap in 2020.

He vacated his lightweight title after ending his career undefeated with victory over Justin Gaethje in his final fight and is unlikely to consider Paul's offer despite the potential interest.

Paul had called out Nurmagomedov in the cage before his recent rematch with Woodley but the claim has largely fallen on deaf ears.

Should Jake Paul make the switch in to MMA in the future? Let us know your verdict in the comments section below

However the former champion has claimed that he has offered Paul a contract to fight on his new promotion Eagle FC which Paul's team has since denied.

He has also reportedly received interest from Bellator and PFL with regards to a potential switch to the cage but any offer seems unlikely due to his financial demands.

The 25-year-old received a mixed reception from fans after showing footage of his kicking technique on social media.

UFC legend Michael Bisping has told Paul to "forget" taking on the Russian star in the cage.

"For Jake Paul to be going out there and saying he will fight in MMA against Khabib, I mean what the f*** is that?," he said on his YouTube channel.

"No amount of training from Khabib or from anyone is gonna have you beating Khabib, yes he did a little bit of wrestling when he's at school.

"At the end of the day, we are talking about fights that will never happen. Jake Paul vs Khabib, never gonna happen. "

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