Jake Paul says MMA is becoming 'a sh*ttier version of boxing,' despite being part of the PFL
By Simon Head

It's fair to say that Jake Paul has done pretty well for himself in the world of combat sports.
The former Disney Channel star-turned-YouTuber raised eyebrows when he announced he wanted to box, but through hours of hard training, and some very smart matchmaking choices, "The Problem Child" has risen to become a big star, albeit one operating adjacent to the elite boxers in the world.
Paul made an appearance on the All The Smoke Fight Podcast alongside his business partner Nakisa Bidarian, where they discussed a range of topics, including UFC president Dana White's foray into boxing after stating that the sport was dying.
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Paul and White have been trading barbs online for years, so it came as no surprise when Paul fired back at White's view as he took aim at the sport the White has helped take into the stratosphere – MMA.
"MMA is not what it was. That's the truth of the matter," Paul argued.
"Boxing is bigger than ever. The biggest sporting event of the year, in 2024, was boxing, whereas MMA is becoming a shittier version of boxing, essentially.
"It's kickboxing, because everyone is getting good takedown defense and everyone's a black belt in jiu-jitsu. So there's no more submissions, really, there's not a lot of takedowns, and even if there is it's fucking boring. But everyone is good at takedown defense. So, it's literally kickboxing.
"Guess who the biggest star of the sport is in MMA? Alex Pereira, who is a kickboxer. Because he's knocking everyone out, blah, blah, blah. And he's the best one because no one can take him down, no one can submit him, so he's just knocking everyone out.
"The UFC has less significant strikes, per round, and that's with five-minute rounds. So boxing is going to stand the test of time because it has. It's been (around) since the 1500s. So, 500, 600 years of boxing. I don't think MMA — I'm not long on MMA, because it's becoming boxing."
So, Paul's not a big MMA guy. Or is he? He certainly was two years ago when he made a big announcement that he'd joined the Professional Fighters League (PFL), and even teased a fight appearance inside the PFL SmartCage. PFL chairman Donn Davis later stated that Paul had signed a multi-fight, multi-year deal with the promotion.
The announcement video, which featured Paul waxing lyrical about the PFL and how he'll help take it to the next level, ran to nearly six and a half minutes.
Coincidentally, that's nearly six and a half minutes longer than Paul has spent competing for the PFL in those two years.
So, is this an indication of Paul's PFL deal going sour? Or just his continued verbal war with UFC boss White? Whatever it is, it doesn't look like we'll be seeing Jake compete in the PFL any time soon.
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