When Jake Paul makes his planned mixed martial arts debut, he’ll be doing so against “top pro talent,” according to Professional Fighters League CEO Peter Murray.
“Jake’s goal is to compete against the very top athletes in MMA, period,” Murray told The Post on Thursday, hours after the media personality-turned-boxing star’s move to sign with the PFL was announced Thursday morning. “… Jake will be fighting top pro talent.”
Who, exactly, that will be remains unclear at this stage, with Murray saying those conversations with Paul and his team are ongoing. Since the announcement, the fighter made a boxing-and-MMA series callout to former UFC star Nate Diaz, who currently is a free agent.
When Paul does compete in the cage for the first time, it will be exclusively as part of the organization’s pay-per-view division.
The announcement of signing Paul, who has been outspoken about a desire to improve fighter pay in MMA, was accompanied by a stated commitment from PFL in a news release to create a “50-50 revenue partnership model for all PPV fights.” In addition to what Murray dubbed “a long-term strategic partnership” between Paul and PFL, Paul will hold the title “head of fighter advocacy” with the stated goal of working “towards a business model that benefits all top fighters.”
“It’s a true economic partnership, 50-50 revenue share,” Murray said, emphasizing the split as it pertains to pay-per-view buys but offering no specifics on how that affects other revenue streams, such as ticket sales.
Paul joins two-time PFL women’s lightweight champion and two-time Olympic gold medal-winning judoka Kayla Harrison and multidivisional boxing champion Claressa Shields — who is 1-1 with PFL since her own transition to MMA in 2021, and whom Murray said would return to PFL in 2023 — as part of the PFL’s growing roster of PPV-exclusive athletes.
Harrison expressed excitement about Paul joining the roster.
“His wrestling background and entertaining personality are going to be an amazing fit,” Harrison told PFL in a quote shared with The Post. “I think what he’s doing for athletes and the sport is awesome. And I can’t wait to watch him soar.”
Paul, who amassed a tremendous following on content creation platforms such as YouTube, has become an unlikely crossover star in the boxing world by defeating former MMA champions in the ring. He owns boxing victories over former Bellator and ONE Championship champ Ben Askren and ex-UFC champions Tyron Woodley and Anderson Silva, whom Paul defeated in October via decision.
Asked about the possibility of rematching any of those stars in MMA, Murray would say only that “some of the biggest free agents in the game have interest” in competing on PFL’s pay-per-view events and “potentially fight Jake.”
Paul’s enormous social media following offers PFL another avenue of expanding its reach.
“Beyond partnering with Jake as a fighter in MMA, we also have the benefit of Jake’s voice, his massive platform, over 60 million followers [across social media platforms] to promote the PFL,” Murray said. “That’s another driving force behind combining our capabilities.”
Murray noted details of when its two 2023 PPV events will be held would be announced “in the next couple of months.” PFL debuted on pay-per-view with its annual championship event in November, which he characterized as “a success overall, from a business standpoint” but said ESPN Plus was not sharing information on the event’s buyrate. Murray also would not say if Paul was targeted to compete at both events.
PFL began utilizing a league format in 2018, with a regular season and playoffs, but has since expanded with a Challenger Series, which returns on Jan. 27, and will launch PFL Europe in March. The upcoming regular season begins April 1.