Jake Paul's long-time rival Daniel Cormier has backed the YouTube star and undefeated boxer to succeed when he steps into the MMA cage for PFL.
The social media influencer, who is 6-0 as a professional boxer since making his debut in 2020, has had a feud with Cormier dating back to an altercation at the start of 2021 as the former two-weight world champion was commentating a UFC event. The heavyweight legend had an angry confrontation with Paul during a commercial break, and there has been bad blood since.
But Cormier has surprised fans by thawing on the YouTube star in recent months, and has now predicted that he will have a positive transition into the cage. The pair have reportedly spoken in private, and the former heavyweight and light-heavyweight champion reckons that his wrestling background will help him to move into MMA with minimal issues.
“ Jake Paul announced today that he has signed with the PFL," Cormier said in a stream on his YouTube channel. "Jake and I have had some run ins. When I started talking to him, and I’m messaging him, he’s a kid that’s very respectful. We had respectful conversations. We really did.
"We didn’t argue or fight. He was a kid that he has an idea of what he wants to do. Kids today are very different, like how Adesanya would say whatever he wanted to about Jones even if he hadn’t proven the truth. That’s what kids like Jake Paul do today. He’s boisterous, verbal, and speaks big, but he’s respectful."
And Cormier respects that Paul, whether considered by the sport's hardcore fans to be legitimate or not, is one of the few boxers willing to move to the cage. He has competed in many crossover bouts with MMA legends, but has stuck to his word, signing for multiple bouts in the PFL's 'smart cage'.
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“A lot of boxers say they are going to fight but they never actually do," Cormier continued. "Here’s the thing about Jake Paul, though, he’s from Ohio, a wrestling hotbed. Ohio has some of the best high school wrestling in the entire country. Paul was a high school wrestler and so was his brother Logan. They weren’t bad. So, although it seems as though Jake Paul does a lot of things to drum up interest, I believe this one he’ll actually fight.”
Paul will take an ownership stake in PFL as part of his new deal with the company, and is going to become the 'head of fighter advocacy' in the promotion. It remains to be seen what the exact specifications of the role will be, but he is expected to make a big push to promote the MMA company to his tens of millions of fans across social media.
Both Paul and his manager Nakisa Bidarian will be working closely with PFL as part of this deal. Bidarian was the UFC's Chief Financial Officer when they were sold to WME-IMG, now known as Endeavor, for $4billion.
