Donald Trump has suggested that Jake Paul should try to tempt one of the UFC's all-time greats back into the octagon.
Khabib Nurmagomedov called time on his career in 2020 as the undefeated UFC lightweight champion, finishing with a perfect 29-0 record. He's turned down every offer to come back, including a reported $100 million payday to box Floyd Mayweather.
But Trump isn't interested in seeing Paul go down that path. The YouTuber-turned-boxer has made a career out of fighting former MMA stars, picking up wins over Anderson Silva, Nate Diaz, Ben Askren, and most notably knocking out Tyron Woodley.
Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images
Jake Paul made an appearance at a rally in support of President Donald Trump, who went on to endorse the YouTuber as he looks to move into politics. The two then took part in a podcast-style interview, which Paul described himself as 'controversial'.
The conversation soon turned to one of Trump's favourite topics – fighting. Both men share a strong interest in boxing and MMA, with the former president even making time to stream last December's Netflix fight between Paul and Anthony Joshua from Air Force One, where the YouTuber suffered a broken jaw.
Paul was asked about his next potential opponent. He mentioned that he'd need to stay within his cruiserweight class or move into MMA, before listing possible heavyweight names such as Oleksandr Usyk [in the cage], Francis Ngannou or welterweight champion Ryan Garcia.
When Paul turned the question back to Trump, asking who he'd like to see him face next, Trump responded: "Probably Khabib. I think when they say he was the best, he was great."
Paul is still recovering from his broken jaw and expects it'll be close to year-end before he can spar with full contact again. Still, he's optimistic about his recovery and even suggested his jaw might come back stronger than before.
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