UFC star Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira has said he’s open to a fight with Jake Paul as he’s looking to get involved with Dana White’s idea of promoting more boxing matches.
Since stepping into the boxing world, Jake Paul has tangled with his fair share of Mixed Martial Artists crossing over. He’s got wins over Tyron Woodley, Ben Askren, Nate Diaz, and Mike Perry on his almost-perfect boxing record.
Even though he’s training to fight Mike Tyson, the ‘Problem Child’ has also had his eye on another target – UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira.
The Brazilian fighter, who does have a background in boxing, was called out by Jake following his win over Perry. Since then, ‘Poatan’ has suggested he’s open to it and footage of his amateur fights has surfaced, creating a bit more hype.
Now, the 37-year-old has given his biggest hint yet that it could happen in the future.
“Honestly, man, I feel very good about this, I like boxing. I’ve wanted to fight in boxing for a while,” he told Kevin Iole when asked about potentially boxing again. “I’m going to release actually, in the next few days, video footage of me sparring with the best heavyweight boxer in Brazil.”
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He continued: “It’s a few years ago, the video, but now I’ve gotten much better in the game. Dana White made the announcement, and, man, to be honest, nothing was spoken of between us and the organisation. But, I feel the partnership will start with me.”
Jake is training to fight Tyson in November but is also set to make his MMA debut in 2025.
According to PFL boss Peter Murray, the Tyson fight is Jake’s “finishing up” point with boxing for a while. So, if the Poatan fight does come round, it’ll be a while yet before they touch gloves.