Jake Paul was submitted in his first 'MMA fight' as part of a video for his YouTube channel, months before he ever decided to start boxing.
The social media star first laced up gloves for a serious training session in February 2018 after being called out by KSI, and ultimately agreed to face his younger brother Deji that summer. But in a video which was later deleted, Paul could be seen sparring with former Bellator star AJ Agazarm, at the time a few months from his professional debut, in a 'cage fight'.
Over five years on from when the video was filmed and released, Paul has now signed for a legitimate professional MMA debut under the PFL banner. He will compete in the promotion's pay-per-view 'super-fight' series, and take a piece of ownership of the promotion.
But he will need to show significant improvement from when he took on Agazarm, particularly if he wants to fight the likes of his pal Nate Diaz. The YouTuber used to be friends with the ex-Bellator star, using him as a sparring partner for his boxing debut, but they appear to have fallen out in recent years.
At the time Agazarm was an established and respected jiu-jitsu black belt but was not yet the "professional MMA fighter" he was billed as in the video title and most of Paul's pre-fight skits. Paul at the time was making a vlog every day, and had famously achieved 5million subscribers within six months after coming over from Vine.
Paul was 20-years-old when the video was made, while Agazarm was 26. In their fighting careers, they have competed at drastically different weights, with Paul tipping the scales as heavy as 191lb while Agazarm has gone as low as MMA's featherweight, where he has weighed 145lb. There was also a four-inch height difference, giving the YouTuber a significant size advantage.
When Agazarm signed with Bellator a year later, it was reported that he had fought eight times as an amateur, and while little record exists to verify that claim, if it's any way true then he was far more experienced than Paul in the sport. It's the first known footage of Paul in MMA or boxing, although there is also video of his high school wrestling tournaments.
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And while he clearly struggled with the pressure of Agazarm, he showed clear ability even then, landing a big left-right combination down the middle in the second round that seemed to hurt the fighter. In the first round, Paul was completely dominated and likely could have been finished if his opponent pushed past the light pace he was working at throughout.
But there was a bit of messing that took place in the second round when Paul landed his big combination, with Agazarm pretending to have received an eye poke and the 'referee' claiming there was an eye poke. Once the fighter has reclaimed his breath, they reveal that it was a prank and the fight continues at which point Paul is quickly taken down and submitted.
It's clear in the footage that neither Paul or Agazarm are taking the "fight" all too seriously, with Paul eating donuts between rounds and generally seeming to understand that he would stand minimal chance if they were to legitimately compete. But the YouTuber did show glimpses of the talent that would later emerge in his six professional boxing fights.
The full lengthy vlog of the pair's spar has been scrubbed from the internet, but footage of Paul being easily beaten by Agazarm still often circulates. It would be almost a year before he decided to make his boxing debut, before eventually turning professional in 2020 against AnEsonGib. Paul has landed four knockouts in his professional career thus far, and won all six of his fights.
