Jake Paul: “He’s gonna strangle him or rip his arm off”

UFC CEO Dana White is confident that LeBron James and Jake Paul would not survive in an MMA fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov, despite their athleticism and peak fitness levels.

Nurmagomedov, a former UFC lightweight champion, popularized the Dagestani style of wrestling in MMA and is considered one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time. Although he competed in the lightweight division, his teammates have often claimed that ‘The Eagle’ is capable of defeating larger and physically stronger opponents.

In a recent interview with Overtime, White was asked how long he thought James would last in a fight against Nurmagomedov. White replied:

“Ten seconds, he’s gonna get him and he’s gonna strangle him or rip his arm off.”

When the reporter asked what the UFC CEO thought about Paul’s chances against Nurmagomedov, White, who has frequently criticized Jake Paul and the influencer boxing scene, acknowledged Paul’s abilities, but still predicted a similar outcome:

“The difference between the Paul brothers is they have some wrestling and things like that. But I’ll give Jake 25 seconds… Jake actually fights, but it doesn’t last long.”

Interestingly, White praised the athleticism of influencer IShowSpeed but predicted Nurmagomedov would quickly win if they were to fight.

Check out Dana White’s comments below (via @mma.pros.pick):

What does Khabib Nurmagomedov think about a potential fight against Jake Paul?

Jake Paul has frequently called out elite boxers and MMA fighters for boxing matches, and many fighters have accepted his challenges due to the lucrative prospects of facing the influencer-turned-boxer.

However, Khabib Nurmagomedov has not entertained the idea of a mega fight against ‘The Problem Child’ when called out. Instead, Nurmagomedov expressed a willingness to sign Paul with his MMA promotion, Eagle FC. During his appearance on The Full Send Podcast in 2022, Nurmagomedov said:

“He has never fought in MMA. He doesn’t have experience. If you want to fight in MMA, we can give him chance, we can sign him.”

When the podcast host mentioned that Paul had expressed the desire to fight him, Nurmagomedov replied:

“I don’t think so… In MMA, [he would last] a couple of minutes… But he’s a little late, I’ve finished [my career]. But of course, we can think about this. I watched his sparring, a video of him training MMA with someone. He has a lot to learn. If he wants, we can sign him, we can pay him. We’ll see.”

Nurmagomedov retired from professional MMA competition following his win against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in October 2020. Since then, he has dedicated his time to helping his teammates advance in their MMA careers.