Donald Trump wants to see Jake Paul face arguably the most-terrifying fighter in the history of mixed martial arts (MMA).
This week, influencer Paul gave a speech at one of the US president’s rallies, three months after falling to a knockout defeat by Anthony Joshua.
The sixth-round loss to Joshua, a former two-time heavyweight champion, marked Paul’s latest outing in the boxing ring, in a career in which he has gone 12-2. The defeat also saw Paul suffer a broken jaw.
Still, Paul has done well to record boxing wins over numerous MMA stars, including fan favourite Nate Diaz, the legendary Anderson Silva, and former champion Tyron Woodley – the latter of whom Paul knocked out in the first of their two bouts.
And despite coming up short against Joshua in December, Paul is eyeing a return to the ring – or a debut in the cage.
In a sit-down interview, President Trump asked the 29-year-old: “So, who do you fight next? Would you ever fight him again? No?”
“That’s a good question,” Paul replied. No, [I wouldn’t fight Joshua again], I don’t think so. I think I need to go stay at my weight class. I think Francis Ngannou.”
Ngannou, a former UFC champion, is actually a heavyweight like Joshua. The Cameroonian has boxed twice, narrowly losing to Tyson Fury on points and suffering a brutal KO by “AJ”, but he has since returned to MMA. In fact, he will fight at an event promoted by Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions on 16 May, and the pair verbally agreed to a future bout at a press conference this week.
“I think so, right,” Trump said in response to Paul’s comment about moving back down to cruiserweight, before Paul teased a move into MMA – not for the first time.
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“Maybe doing some MMA,” he said. “We’re promoting fights now on Netflix, we’ve got Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano [in the main event after Ngannou vs Philipe Lins].
“Maybe [boxing champion Oleksandr] Usyk in MMA, Francis Ngannou, [boxing champion] Ryan Garcia, maybe Tommy Fury. There’s a lot.” Prior to December, Paul’s only professional loss had come against Tommy Fury – half-brother of Tyson – on points in 2023.
“Who would you wanna see me fight?” Paul ultimately asked Mr Trump.
“Well, I… I… Probably Khabib, how about Khabib?” responded the 79-year-old, referencing Khabib Nurmagomedov, one of the most-dominant champions in UFC history.
“I’m down,” said Paul, with Mr Trump replying: “You’re down? I think he’s just great.
“When they say, ‘Who was the best?’ of those… I mean, I’ve had a lot of fights; I’ve had Mike Tyson, that was great.”
Nurmagomedov in fact retired from competition in 2020, leaving MMA without a single defeat and as the UFC lightweight champion.
The Russian retired moments after submitting Justin Gaethje, a win that marked his third successful defence of the title – a joint-record at the time. Nurmagomedov, now 37 years old, was just 32 in that fight; he cited his reason for retiring as the death of his father, who also served as his head coach, three months earlier.
Now, though, Nurmagomedov is an MMA trainer himself. He even coached his childhood friend Islam Makhachev to a record-breaking four defences of the UFC lightweight belt, then a title win at welterweight in November.
Before submitting Gaethje, Nurmagomedov’s prior title defences were submissions of Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. The win against McGregor remains the highest-grossing fight in UFC history, and it marked the end of a bitter rivalry.
Mr Trump is a close friend of UFC president Dana White and has attended numerous events held by the promotion in recent years. On 14 June, Mr Trump’s 80th birthday, the UFC will hold an unprecedented fight card at the White House.
The event is predominantly meant as a celebration of 250 years of the United States. White said on Thursday that 85,000 tickets will be given away to fans, allowing them entry to a park in the vicinity of the White House.
The card will be co-headlined by Gaethje, who currently holds the interim lightweight title, and regular champion Ilia Topuria. The latter claimed he was initially in talks to face Nurmagomedov’s protege Makhachev.
