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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Ben Davies

Jorge Masvidal signs new UFC deal to end Jake Paul's hopes of boxing fight

Jorge Masvidal has signed a new contract with the UFC which will end YouTube star Jake Paul's chances of luring his rival into the boxing ring.

'Gamebred' has been frequently called-out by the YouTube star after the pair's previous friendship turned sour.

Masvidal faces Colby Covington this weekend in a huge grudge match and has spoken at length about prioritising a return to the summit of the welterweight division.

He has now signed a lucrative new deal with the promotion which will take him to the end of his fighting career.

The contract will place him in the top-five highest paid athletes in the promotion and he reacted on Twitter, posting: "Thank you Hunter Cambell, Dana White and my team, Malik Kawa, Abraham Kawa and First Round Management for making sure my kids will never go hungry again."

Masvidal, 37, has competed in MMA since 2003 but remains as hungry as ever to succeed at welterweight.

Fighter pay has long been an issue in the UFC but Masvidal's manager Malik Kawa confirmed to ESPN : "His contract pays him like a champion and then some. And the length of time will be that he will finish his career in the UFC."

Masvidal has not fought since April last year when he was defeated in a rematch against welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.

He was set to face leading ranked contender Leon Edwards last year but was forced to withdraw through injury.

Since then, Masvidal has frequently engaged in back-and-forth exchanges with Paul who has made a name for himself in boxing.

He has five professional victories to his name with two coming against former UFC champion Tyron Woodley.

Masvidal has hit out at Paul in bitter rants in recent months and demanded a fee of $20million to step into the boxing ring.

Who wins this weekend - Colby Covington or Jorge Masvidal? Let us know your prediction in the comments section below

The pair used to train together but later became enemies with Paul offering to retire from boxing in a bid to meet the star in the octagon.

Paul has previously indicated his plans to compete in the cage but Masvidal has claimed he ignored an offer for the pair to meet in the UFC.

"Why the f*** would I fight Jake Paul in boxing?" Masvidal asked DAZN News. "Look at his last pay-per-view [his rematch with Tyron Woodley].

"He offered me $5m to come to box him. I make more than that in the UFC, so why would I go fight him for that? He's got no money to offer me.

"After that horrible offer, me and my team made him and his team an offer to come fight me in the UFC. A one-fight deal in the UFC. I beat his a**, humble him so bad that he never fights in boxing ever again."

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