Jake Paul has accepted an invitation to join Khabib Nurmagomedov's MMA promotion for his cage debut - if his first fight is against the UFC legend.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer has been flirting with swapping the ring for the cage, even holding preliminary talks with the PFL and tagging Bellator in a video of him practicing kicks.
But he has now told legendary MMA fighter Nurmagomedov that he will join his promotion Eagle FC, who are making their American debut next weekend.
However, he wants a bout with the retired former UFC lightweight champion before he agrees to join the new-found promotion, who have already signed the likes of Rashad Evans and Kevin Lee.
Paul had taunted Dana White by declaring that he would be debuting at middleweight for the good of his health when he fights in the cage, while most fighters cut massive amounts to make a smaller class.
And in response, Nurmagomedov invited him to join his promotion, saying: "The doors of Eagle Fight Club always open for you and your team."
Paul responded in Russian and English with a simple message that read "Deal. Only if I fight you first."
The YouTube star is 5-0 as a professional boxer with four knockouts, including stoppage wins over former UFC champion Tyron Woodley and ex-Bellator and ONE FC champion Ben Askren.
He also has an extensive high school wrestling background as well as playing football to a high level, which has aided the success of a number of top MMA fighters like Eryk Anders, Brendan Schaub and Matt Mitrione.
But his one brief foray into the MMA world saw him submitted within two rounds by Bellator featherweight AJ Agazarm in 2017, before he had started training boxing.
He is known to be an admirer of Nurmagomedov's, and once said that he was one of the only opponents with whom he wouldn't engage in trash talking.
And he even expressed an interest in joining up with the American Kickboxing Academy, where Nurmagomedov trains under coach Javier Mendez.
In the lead-up to his rematch with Woodley last month, Paul told reporters in Florida that when he inevitably fights in the cage, it would be under their tutelage as a member of team Khabib.
"For sure I will," Paul said of his MMA debut in a media scrum in December. "People seem to forget that I was a state wrestler, division one in Ohio.
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"I'm going to go and get coached up by Javier Mendez, Team Khabib and that's that.
"They're down, 100 per cent - I've got to go 10-0 or 12-0 in boxing first and then I'll hit that MMA fight."
Mendez would later dispute the claim that they were "100 per cent" interested in working with him, noting that he would need to be voted into the gym by another fighter.
"It could happen but like anybody you know we have to go through all the coaches and all the fighters that are here and anybody that's a famous athlete like him," he told The Schmo weeks later.
"They will go through the routine that everybody does so he would have to get voted by everybody. First of all, he's never asked. What he's done is he's marketed himself beautifully.
"I loved the plug he gave us, I think it was a fantastic plug and I think he's a fantastic person. He in turn gave me a create return favour by talking about training with us.
"But the reality is no matter who you are, you have to go through the team to get consent to train with us.
"He hasn't been given consent because he hasn't asked, it's not that he won't I just know he hasn't asked."
