Khabib Nurmagomedov isn’t taking Jake Paul’s challenge all that seriously.
Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov knows a trolljob when he hears one. When the Dagestani caught wind that Paul was teasing making a crossover into MMA, he offered to make his Eagle FC promotion the YouTuber’s MMA home. Paul then came back with the following counteroffer:
“Deal,” Paul said. “Only if I fight you first.”
Jake Paul has said in the past that Khabib is the only fighter that he would never troll and that if he ever did call him out, it would be respectful. So maybe this isn’t a trolljob after all but rather the respectful callout he prophesized last fall.
When appearing on The Full Send Podcast, Khabib was asked to respond to Paul’s proposal. During his young career as an MMA promoter, the Dagestani has proven that he is fully committed to doing whatever it takes to grow the Eagle FC brand. But unretiring in order to fight an 0-0 Jake Paul is not a sacrifice this dedicated boss is willing to make.
And Khabib believes that the former Disney actor is very fortunate that is the case.
“Come on. Come on, Jake Paul. I don’t think so. In MMA, like couple minutes,” Khabib said of a potential bout between the two athletes.
Khabib may be willing to give Paul an opportunity to gain experience in Eagle FC, but from the little bit of footage he’s seen, a competition between the two of them isn’t worthy of any serious deliberation.
“He late a little bit. ’Cause I’m finished,” Khabib said. “Of course, they can think about this. I watched his—it was sparring or I watch some video (of him) doing MMA with someone. He have to learn a lot.”
Khabib may be referring to a video Paul released of him training leg kicks. He may also be referring to a dated video of the YouTuber getting submitted by Bellator’s AJ Agazarm in 2017. Either way, the undefeated grappler thinks Paul would be better served fighting a more handpicked opponent that is more suitable for a beginner.
“If he want, we can give him chance,” Khabib said. “We can sign him, and we can pay him. And we’ll see.”
Would you have any interest in watching Khabib maul—I mean fight Jake Paul?
