The 5 Next Best Fights For Jake Paul After Loss vs. Anthony Joshua

In the end, it went the way it was supposed to. It took a little longer than anyone expected it to, but Anthony Joshua absolutely obliterated Jake Paul on Netflix.

The first few rounds of the fight were forgettable. Maybe not as bad as Paul's 2025 fight with Mike Tyson, but close. Thankfully, things started to pick up around the halfway point, when Joshua suddenly seemed to remember he was in a fight, and Paul simultaneously began to fall apart. It finally ended in round six, when Joshua trapped Paul against the cage and laid waste.

"The right hand finally found its mark," he said in his post-fight interview with Ariel Helwani.

Joshua then gave Paul some "props" for surviving as long as he did. Perhaps Paul does deserve some kudos. He lasted longer than Francis Ngannou did against "AJ," even if he did almost nothing on the fight. However, after this result, his options in boxing are decidedly slimmer.

In MMA, however, he would have a clean slate.

Paul's move to MMA has seemed inevitable since he signed a deal with the Professional Fighters League (PFL) several years ago. After his loss to Joshua, which seemingly left him with a broken jaw, it seems more likely than ever—particularly after he kept shooting for his opponent's hips in the fight. We'll be talking about that bizarre detail of the fight for weeks to come.

Paul refused to give up on his boxing dreams in his post-fight interview with Helwani, and if history tells us anything, he's more than capable of setting up a big fight, even after a loss. But if MMA does happen to be next, here are the five fights we think make the most sense.

Nate Diaz

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Jake Paul has already floated the idea of an MMA clash with Nate Diaz, whom he beat in the boxing ring in 2023. 

On the surface, this matchup makes sense. As a huge name himself, Diaz is a suitable B-side for the social media star-turned-fighter. He's also a free agent, which means it would only be a question of convincing him to accept the fight with Paul. 

That's where we'd probably run into problems. 

Several years back, Paul signed an exclusive contract with the Professional Fighters League (PFL). If that contract is still valid—which is unclear—the fight with Diaz would have to occur under the PFL banner. Unfortunately, that is seemingly why Diaz rejected the idea the first time Paul broached it.

Despite no longer having a UFC contract, he is clearly very loyal to the leading MMA promotion and uninterested in fighting for any others. Meanwhile, even if Paul's PFL deal has expired, it is very unlikely he'd ever be welcomed to the UFC for a fight with Diaz, given his long-term feud with Dana White. 

If Diaz can be convinced to fight in the PFL—which is possible, if the money talks loudly enough—this could be the fight to make for Paul's MMA debut. Otherwise, it's probably just too complicated to even touch.

Jorge Masvidal

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A potential MMA fight between Jake Paul and Jorge Masvidal ticks many of the same boxes as a potential MMA rematch between Paul and Diaz. 

Masvidal, like Diaz, is a big star in combat sports, thanks to a lengthy and entertaining run in the UFC—meaning he's a big enough name for Paul. He is also a free agent, having parted ways with the promotion following a string of losses several years back. 

What makes this matchup more plausible than the Diaz fight is that Masvidal seems more likely to fight Paul outside the UFC. Could it be in a boxing ring or in an octagon?

While he has repeatedly expressed his desire to fight for the UFC again, it seems unlikely he'll be given the opportunity, given his recent results. If he can accept that, it's doubtful he'd have any objection to fighting in the PFL if the money is right.

Anderson Silva

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Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal would be very tough tests for Jake Paul in MMA debut. Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, who is also a free agent, would be another kind of challenge altogether—even at 50 years old.

Like Diaz, Silva suffered a decision loss to Paul in the boxing ring. However, he is easily one of the greatest fighters in MMA history, and would challenge Paul with a level of technique that neither Diaz nor Masvidal ever came close to achieving in a cage or ring.

His age, of course, would be a factor in the matchup. He is not as fast or as durable as he once was, which could be just the thing Paul needs to win what otherwise looks like an insurmountable challenge.

However, Silva was back in action earlier on Friday's Netflix broadcast, where he scored another highlight reel KO at the expense of former UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley.

That victory does not imply he's anywhere near his prime by any stretch, but it also proved he's got plenty left in the tank, even in his 50s. If Paul calls for an MMA fight, he'd surely answer, and it would be an extremely tough challenge when the cage door closes.

Donegi Abena

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There is one big problem with calling on guys like Diaz, Masvidal, Woodley, and Silva to fight Jake Paul in his MMA debut: They're all way, way more experienced in the sport than he is. 

If we look at the early phases of Paul's boxing career—really everything up to the Joshua fight, for that matter—his opponents shared a few essential qualities. First, they were either much older or much smaller than he was. Secondly, and more importantly, they were often as inexperienced and sometimes more inexperienced than he was in the boxing ring. 

We can expect him to follow the exact blueprint in MMA. If so, he is probably not going to fight a guy like Silva, for example. The Brazilian has dozens of high-profile MMA fights on his resume and, even at 51, would probably kick Paul's head into orbit or submit him in a matter of minutes. Instead, Paul will probably be looking to fight someone as inexperienced in MMA as he is, which could mean a clash with a former boxer or even a former kickboxer. 

Let's assume CM Punk isn't available. Let's also assume his MMA debut will take place in the PFL cage against a fighter on the PFL roster. If that's all true, that could mean a fight with former Glory kickboxing champ Donegi Abena. 

Abena, who fought the likes of Artem Vakhitov and Alex Pereira in the kickboxing ring, spent most of his career competing at 209 lbs. That makes him a little bigger than Paul's typical opponents. At 27, he's also considerably younger than most of the men Paul has fought. However, he has yet to make his MMA debut, having just signed with the PFL with that goal. Competitively speaking, that makes him a suitable choice for Paul's first MMA fight—tough but beatable, due to his inexperience. 

On the other hand, he lacks another key quality shared by most Paul opponents to date. Despite his success in Glory, he is not a big name. Nobody outside the most hardcore fight fans knows who he is. 

If Paul is looking for buzz in his MMA debut—and he surely is—this is probably not the guy to fight. That brings us to our final option… 

Oleksandr Usyk

We would not even mention this option had Oleksandr Usyk not spoken it into existence himself. 

Usyk, one of the greatest boxers of this generation, first floated the idea of an MMA fight with Paul back in September. 

"Soon, I'll close the book on boxing, and after that, I'll be waiting for you in the cage," he wrote on X. "Let's see if you've got the balls or just a hunger for hype."

As out-of-left-field as this option is, it would tick a lot of boxes for Paul. For all his boxing skill, Usyk has never competed in MMA, and would therefore be a viable opponent for the influencer. He's also a huge name, which makes him a much more lucrative possibility than somebody like Donegi Abena. In fact, it's hard to imagine a Paul vs. Usyk MMA fight being anything other than headline news for weeks before and after the fact—much like Paul's Saturday fight with Joshua. 

There's just one major problem with this idea, and it comes down to money. Usyk is used to making huge sums of money for his boxing matches—far more than the PFL could afford to pay him to compete in MMA, surely. The UFC could afford to sign him, but if they did, it certainly wouldn't be to fight Paul.

In other words, the only way this one will happen if somebody other than the PFL bankrolls it—like Saudi Arabia or Netflix. At the end of 2025, neither option seems impossible, but it's definitely still a long shot.