How Jake Paul Could Fight Kamaru Usman Next

UFC Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman may be interested in fighting YouTube star Jake Paul, but not for a cheap price. 

Kamaru Usman, now 19-1, is looking for a fight. After one of the most brutal knockouts that the world has ever seen in a fight, very few contenders seem to be catching his eye.

The top two that come to mind are Colby Covington and Leon Edwards. Covington is likely to be next, especially considering the bad blood between the two. 

Following that, Kamaru Usman said he’d give Jorge Masvidal (now 0-2 against Kamaru Usman for the belt) a third shot. This would only happen, however, if Masvidal took out some of the other welterweight contenders.

In the future, Masvidal will likely have to go through some top 4 fighters in the division before getting his third shot. 

As he potentially moves towards the aftermath of what’s shaping up to be the prime of his career, Kamaru Usman has started directing his attention to big-money publicity bouts. More notably, the prospect of a fight with Jake Paul. 

Jake Paul, 3-0, has frequently taken to Twitter in calling out the champion to a bout, and Kamaru Usman has opened himself up to the possibility of it happening. 

Such a fight, however, would have to come with a steep payday. Kamaru Usman is reportedly not interested in anything less than an 8 figure check, meaning that he’d have to be taking home tens of millions of dollars. 

Such a condition makes a lot of sense. For one, Kamaru Usman would potentially damage his reputation as one of the sport’s best if he stepped into the ring with a YouTuber. Such action may stain his legacy. 

Secondly, UFC president Dana White wouldn’t allow that fight to happen in any circumstance. Dana and Jake Paul have a long history of public altercations, and Dana has been open about the fact that he won’t let any of the fighters on his roster go up against a YouTuber like Jake. This means that if Kamaru Usman were to fight Jake Paul, he’d most likely be already stripped of his championship belt (and be past his prime). There’s a low likelihood of Kamaru Usman fighting Jake Paul while in his prime, especially because any fight he signs onto may lead to a risk of being cut from the UFC altogether. 

I don’t think that this fight will manifest itself in any form, but it’ll definitely be interesting to see how it plays out!