Will the Paul Brothers Enter the Octagon?

The world of MMA and boxing aren’t without their ill-advised challenges from mediocre fighters looking to make their name on a major upset victory. While underdog wins provide fans with excitement, like Matt Serra’s triumph over Georges St-Pierre or TJ Dillashaw’s win against Renan Barao, easy wins are less of a treat.

The threat of a knockout loss hasn’t stopped YouTube personalities, brothers Logan and Jake Paul, from looking to lure top competitors like Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor into the ring. Though the pair have millions of fans, neither have made worthwhile efforts to improve their chances in the octagon.

Logan Paul has only one fight under his belt (against another online personality), which he lost. Jake Paul has two KO wins—though he’s only fought one other YouTube personality and NBA star Nate Robinson.

Clearly, for Mayweather or McGregor, stepping into the octagon with one of the YouTube personalities would be an effortless win—or one of the greatest upsets in fighting history. Either way, it’s likely a major location like the Garden in Vegas would open up to the event—if not for credible fighting, then at least for the big money involved.

Fans would happily pay for pay-per-view rights, while sportsbooks with mobile platforms, like Unibet App, would see major action on underdog odds. However, it’s unlikely that either match would see a Holly Holm-Ronda Rousey style upset.

Logan Paul Zeroes in on Mayweather

In 2020, rumors began swirling in the fighting community and had many googling the name Logan Paul. Even for casual fans who haven’t followed Mayweather’s illustrious 50-0 career, or the recent whooping served to Tenshin Nasukawa in 2018, Paul’s insistence at challenging the greatest fighter of all time was cringeworthy.

Even so, plans have continued to unroll between Mayweather and Paul. And though Mayweather has admitted recently that he’s not in the best shape of his life, he’s still pushing for an exhibition match that can host up to 80,000 spectators.

At the moment, it’s likely the match will come at the end of 2021 and will be hosted at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium to capitalize on spectators. The delays are likely working in favor of Paul, who has decades of fighting experience to make up for in a matter of months.

Jake Paul Casts a Wide Net

As ill-fated as a run-in with Mayweather seems, Logan Paul’s younger brother isn’t afraid of chasing down multiple matches. In December 2020, the younger Paul made headlines for challenging McGregor to a $50 million match.

At the time, McGregor was preparing for his match against Poirier and didn’t respond until the end of January. He called Paul ‘a confused little kid’, though he also said that ‘whatever happens, will happen’.

While Paul’s management works magic to woo McGregor into a major faceoff, Paul has focused his attention on his upcoming match against Ben Askren. The pair will battle on April 17, which will be the first peek that MMA fans have into the actual skill set of the Paul brothers as they advance in their professional careers.

So far, Askren and Paul have battled it out on social media. However, it’s Askren’s first statement that succinctly summarizes what most fans have been thinking about the Paul brothers dipping a toe into UFC, “I’m going to make a bunch of money to beat up a guy who is pretending to be an athlete.”

Still, the upcoming battle with Askren and Paul is likely to drive viewers who are asking themselves… but what if Paul wins?