Logan Paul has confirmed his amazing three-day body transformation photos ahead of WrestleMania were faked as part of a joke with fans.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer made his WWE debut this weekend in a tag team match with The Miz against Rey Mysterio and his son Dominick, picking up what he has said was his first win in combat sports. Fans were impressed with Paul's physical attributes in the ring, particularly after he shared before-and-after photos showing him dropping major weight.
But it turns out that the pictures were part of an elaborate joke, and that the transformation in fact took him closer to a month than three days. Paul is known for being in generally good shape, particularly when he competes in boxing fights or makes major appearances, and looked ripped as he made his wrestling debut.
And despite the fact that WWE 'fights' are pre-determined and as such not legitimate sporting contests, he still claims it to be his first win after three unsuccessful boxing outings. He drew on his debut against fellow YouTuber KSI before losing a split decision in their rematch and going the distance in an exhibition with Floyd Mayweather that wasn't scored.
"That was a joke," Paul admitted of his transformation post during The MMA Hour last night, before noting that he was paying tribute to anime character One Punch Man. "That was like a month.
"One Punch Man is the strongest anime character of all time, he destroys people with one punch and everybody is like 'how do you do it? What's your training regimen?' And all he does is 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups every day and runs 10 miles."
Paul's WWE debut signalled his return to some sort of ring, and he now appears to be heading towards the UFC octagon. Promotional boss Dana White refused last month to turn down the idea of Paul appearing in the cage at some point, and he is now targeting a bout with new star Paddy Pimblett.
Would you like to see Logan Paul fight again, or move full-time into the WWE? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
"I have found out who I would like to fight if I did a UFC match," he declared. "Paddy the Baddy (Pimblett). They say he is the next Conor McGregor right? He is super charismatic and entertaining as hell. He is on the come-up and young like me and has a real loud mouth. I like the way he can perform.
"I think I might have him on my podcast and say to him straight up 'I would like to fight you in the UFC'. He could get up to 185lb and I could get down to 185lb for a UFC match. It's the only thing I don't know if I would win, he is a good a** fighter and I have never had an MMA fight. If I am doing it obviously I think I am going to win.
"But now I am looking at it and if I do a UFC fight then I have to do it with someone else who can sell tickets. He is still relatively new and he is young and entertaining so I think the fans will eat that s*** up. There is too much going on at the moment but yeah."
However, Paul is also considering a full-time move to WWE, where he says he enjoys the ability to enjoy the build-up without the stresses of competitive fighting. Friends joined him for a fun pre-match chat in the changing room before his WrestleMania match, as opposed to the more sombre tone taken before his big fights with KSI and Mayweather.
