UFC Hall of Famer and PFL analyst Randy Couture believes Jake Paul needs to be careful with his MMA career.
‘The Problem Child’ has been out of action since his clash with Anderson Silva last October on Showtime pay-per-view. While ‘The Spider’ gave Paul the hardest fight of his boxing career thus far, the Brazilian came up short. A pivotal eighth-round knockdown healed seal the win for the YouTuber by unanimous decision.
Currently, the undefeated boxer is expected to face Tommy Fury next month in Saudi Arabia. ‘TNT’ has been scheduled to face Paul on two prior occasions, withdrawing from both. While that fight is yet to be officially announced, the YouTuber had a massive announcement earlier this month.
That announcement is that Jake Paul was signed to PFL, and would be competing in MMA. Immediately following the announcement, the floodgates opened in terms of callouts. Anthony Pettis, Jeremy Stephens, and more, all called to face Paul.
Randy Couture believes the YouTuber should ignore those callouts, and not face an established MMA fighter anytime soon. During a recent interview with MMA News, ‘The Natural’ advised Paul to pick his fights cautiously in the PFL.
“I suspect just like they’ve done with Kayla Harrison and just like they’ve done with Claressa Shields, they’re going to give him some time to get his feet under him,” stated Couture in the interview. “To learn and adjust and adapt and transition to being a bonafide MMA fighter. Obviously we know his boxing skills are on point, but can he stop a takedown? What’s he going to do when he hits his back? Because at some point, he’s going to hit his back.”
He continued, “Where he chooses to train, who he chooses to train with and how he chooses to immerses himself in the MMA world is the real question there… Anthony Pettis is a different weight class than Jake Paul would be I’m assuming. I think Jake could probably make 170, but he’s not a small guy. So what weight class is he going to compete at? We don’t have a 185lb class at least at this stage in the PFL. So, he’s going to be a 205 or 170, that’s going to be interesting. You get him in with one of these fighters but not a marquee fighter.”
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