Randy Couture is hoping that when Jake Paul does compete in MMA it won’t just be a walkover fight for him.
Paul surprised many when he signed with the PFL as an ambassador and said he would fight in MMA down the line. At this moment, ‘The Problem Child’ is still focused on boxing, as he is set to face Nate Diaz on August 5.
When Jake Paul does make his MMA debut, Randy Couture is hopeful that the PFL actually tests the YouTuber-turned-fighter and gives him a tough opponent.
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“I think it’s interesting. Look at what they did with Kayla Harrison. They brought her in two years early, signed her to a contract before there even was a PFL, let her get her feet under her, and let her be a mixed martial artist and not just a Judo gold medalist,” Couture said about Paul on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “They are doing the same thing with Claressa Shields right now who is a two-time boxing gold medalist and world champion. I think Jake is in that same boat, he’s got to figure out what MMA is all about. I get the boxing thing and he’s doing those crossover matches and being very selective in his opponents, and he’s been poking Dana White in the chest about fighter pay and guys like Tyron Woodley and Ben Askren saying they made more money in those boxing matches than they did in MMA.
“He’s been very vocal about that and if it takes a guy like Jake Paul to shine a light on that then I am going to get behind Jake Paul every single time. All I want is if they throw him in, don’t protect him,” Couture continued about Paul. “We built a format that’s built on meritocracy, you got to go out there and score points in that cage if you want to get into the playoffs and get into the championship, and I think those same rules need to hold true for Jake Paul. He needs to go out there and score points and show that he’s become a well-rounded mixed martial artist and I think the PFL knows that too.”
As of right now, there is no timeframe as to when Jake Paul will make his PFL and MMA debut. But Randy Couture hopes he continues to work on his wrestling and MMA skills and expects Paul to find success in the sport.
“I think the fact that he had that foundation that he wrestled at the high school level at least for a while and has that foundation, that’ll dust back off. Now he’s got to figure out how to implement those skills that he has and get them into MMA,” Couture concluded.
