MMA fighter Alexander Yanshin has threatened to "kill" Jake Paul, just days after kicking an opponent during a face-off.
Yanshin and rival Tamerlan Temirov were facing off ahead of their fight with Hardcore FC in Russia when the fighter decided to throw a kick at his rival.
The Russian is set to make his professional debut when they square off on an as-yet undetermined date, while Temirov is winless as a professional, losing his debut last month.
They went head-to-head at a press conference over the past week when Temirov threw a sucker punch at Yanshin causing something of a brawl.
And after the situation appeared to have been calmed down, Yanshin ran across the stage to throw a jumping kick at his opponent, causing a second brawl.
And now Yanshin has called out YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul, declaring that he will "kill" the 5-0 fighter, who has knocked out all four of his opponents.
"Hi guys, my name is Yanshin Alexander," he declared in a bizarre social media video. "It's me, kickfire double dragon.
"F*** you, Temirov, b***.
"I'll kill you Jake Paul, I'll kill you Jake Paul, I am the best of the best, I am boxing, I'll kill you!"
Paul has yet to respond, and it is unlikely that he will given his busy travel schedule a s he promotes the Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano fight that takes place in New York on April 30.
He joined co-promoter Hearn as well as Serrano and Taylor at Madison Square Garden yesterday for a launch press conference, and will jet to London on Monday for a further leg of media duties.
Paul is currently taking a break from the ring to focus on making sure that Serrano gets the coverage necessary to make her fight with Taylor one of the biggest in the world.
It's been dubbed the biggest fight in women's boxing history, but Hearn insists that it is in fact simply one of the biggest fights in history given Taylor's status as an undisputed champion and Serrano having won belts at seven weight classes.
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Paul's return to the ring is expected now to take place as late as August or September, with no opponent clearly emerging as yet after his knockout win over Tyron Woodley in December.
He fought four times in 13 months between November 2020 and December 2021, headlining three pay-per-views and defeating former MMA champions Woodley and Ben Askren.
And while it's unlikely that he'll be fighting the relatively unknown Yanshin, he has expressed interest in moving over to MMA to fight another Russian; Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Nurmagomedov is the former UFC lightweight champion, and went undefeated in his 29 fights before retiring in 2020 following his title defence against Justin Gaethje.
And Paul has said that he will join Nurmagomedov's Eagle FC promotion, should the Russian come out of retirement to fight him in his cage debut.
