Jake Paul has issued a response to Daniel Cormier’s challenge to an MMA fight.
Yesterday, Daniel Cormier had a proposal on how to put an end to his recent beef with YouTuber turned boxing sensation Jake Paul. The former UFC double champion challenged Paul to an MMA fight and expressed this was the only form of combat he would be interested in. He also described the confrontation between the two during the UFC 261 pay-per-view that saw a very hostile Cormier accosting Paul in the middle of the event. Before addressing Cormier’s challenge, Paul gave his version of how the confrontation unfolded during an ESPN interview.
“Yeah, so we get to the seats. And of course, I’m sitting directly behind the commentator’s booth. And the crowd sees me, starts chanting, ‘Fuck Jake Paul. Fuck Jake Paul.’ And DC turns around and sees me. And he’s staring right at me, looking like he’s pissed off. And he mouthed something to me. And I’m just looking at him like, ‘OK, cool. Whatever.’ And then, there’s a break after the fight. And I see him take his headphones off and come charging at me, like fast-paced walk.
“He’s like <wagging finger>’ This isn’t a game! This isn’t a game! You better not disrespect me! You better not disrespect me or I’m gonna punk you! Keep my name out of your fuckin’ mouth!’
“And I think his goal was to scare me or intimidate me. He came up all macho, and fast, and violently, put his finger right in (my face). And I was like, ‘OK, guy, you’re not scary. You’re 5’8 and chunky boy.’”
Paul then argued that Cormier’s chronology of the name-dropping is backwards because it was Cormier, not him, who started the conversation from afar.
“My immediate response was, ‘You put my name into your mouth first,’ which is a fact. So for him to come up to me and be like, ‘Keep my name out of your mouth, keep my name out of your mouth,’ and for me to be like, ‘Bro, you talked about me first,’ which is very, very true. He, after the Ben Askren press conference tweeted, ‘Ben is for sure gonna win. I saw the way Jake reacted when he got mushed in the face,’ or something along those lines.’”
Paul also took issue with Cormier’s commentary on the DC & Helwani program regarding the Paul/Askren fight and how Cormier responded to Askren’s loss. This, according to Paul, is what ultimately led him to lay out the challenge for a boxing match.
“So then I tweeted him like, ‘All right bro, then you represent the MMA community. Let’s fight if you’re so big, bad, and tough, and blah, blah, blah. So that’s the only time I mentioned him, and I think that really upset him because I called him a fat boy.”
Jake Paul also accused Daniel Cormier of cowering from the opportunity to do what he said he would do, which is slap him on sight. Cormier admitted to being tempted to teach Paul a lesson right then and there during UFC 261, but being that he was on commentating duties and wearing his professional hat, he opted to exercise restraint. Paul believes that should not have prevented him from following through on his word and believes the fact that it did reveals a lot about Cormier as a man.
“Bro, are you about your shit or are you not about your shit? Dana White wouldn’t have done anything if you wanted to lay hands on me. You had your chance, and you bitched out, and it’s embarrassing, and you’re an embarrassment, and you’re not a man of your word.”
Paul Responds To Cormier’s MMA Fight Challenge
Finally, Jake Paul would issue a response to Cormier’s challenge to compete in an MMA fight. As you may have predicted, Paul has no interest in this proposal.
“Of course he’s gonna challenge me to an MMA fight,” Paul began.” Of course. But I find it funny because he’s challenging me to something that I’ve never trained in. He’s trained boxing, and striking, and standup, and has been in there with Stipe, Jon Jones…I mean, he lost those fights, but he’s been in there with the best of the best striking. So why not box? Oh, you want to go against me in something that I’ve never trained in before? Of course. That’s like me finding someone off the streets literally who has never boxed a day in their lives and being like, ‘Alright, come in here, I’m gonna challenge him.’
“There’s way more money in a boxing match. And again, I’m a boxer. I never said that I would beat Daniel Cormier in an MMA fight. If he comes and boxes me, I will beat him. And maybe a part of him knows that?”
Paul went on to state that he predicts that a fight with Cormier would generate near 2 million pay-per-view buys and would net Cormier the biggest payday of his entire combat sports career. The UFC legend previously commented on the financial allure of a Jake Paul fight not being enticing for him because he has already made championship money and does not need to chase a payday.
What are your thoughts on this response from Jake Paul?