Jake Paul's Next Fight, 'Desire' for MMA vs. Diaz, Ngannou Addressed by MVP Exec in B/R Interview

After suffering a knockout loss against Anthony Joshua in December, Jake Paul has yet to figure out his next move, but his right-hand man feels that there are some big plans on the horizon.

Nakisa Bidarian, who co-founded Most Valuable Promotions alongside Paul, revealed that the 29-year-old could be back in the boxing ring by the end of the year, and he also has an eye on competing in mixed martial arts at some point in 2027.

"I think Jake is gonna come back to boxing, hopefully at the end of 2026," Bidarian told Bleacher Report. "But there's a deep desire from him to take a shot at MMA, and I see that happening in the next year and a half, as well."

Paul and Bidarian are expanding their reach in combat sports with Netflix and MVP's first-ever MMA event on Saturday, which is headlined by a main event between legends Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano. The card also features the MMA returns of former UFC stars Francis Ngannou, Nate Diaz and Mike Perry.

While Paul is still recovering from a broken jaw suffered against Joshua, that hasn't stopped him from calling out Ngannou and Diaz for future boxing and MMA fights, even as he's working as their promoter for Saturday's event.

"I would say Jake has called out Francis and Nate during this promotion in two different sports. He's a 29-year-old promoter of the biggest events in combat sports. He's a disruptor, and he finds ways to engage and create storylines," Bidarian said. "So, here we are talking about Francis Ngannou in more ways than one. It's Jake being Jake, that's the magic of him, and that's the ability of him to draw people into what's happening."

While Bidarian is confident that Paul can be successful in MMA, he admitted that it will take some time for him to hone his skills beyond boxing before he's ready to step into the cage. He also suggested that Paul would use a similar strategy to his boxing career when it comes to who he's competing against.

"I think it's choosing your opponents wisely. … I think opponent selection, and then a concerted eight- to nine-month training to round out his entire mixed martial arts base," Bidarian said. "He has, obviously, great boxing, he's got a background in wrestling, and he has experience in jiu jitsu, but there's other facets of the game that he has to really spend time in. He's an incredible athlete, a fast learner and extremely dedicated when it comes to accomplishing his goals."

Paul previously told B/R that his goal in boxing is to win a championship belt in the cruiserweight division, so it's hard to see how fighting another heavyweight like Ngannou or facing Diaz in MMA fits into that pursuit.

However, Bidarian made it clear that Paul is just getting started in combat sports, and he feels he has a lot of time left to climb to the mountaintop and win a title.

"I think his most likely next fight will be at the cruiserweight level. He's 29, and he has a long road ahead of him, and he started late, relatively speaking. There was no amateur career, it isn't like he's already done 25 fights," Bidarian said. "So I think he's got a solid five to six years left in the sport, and that is definitely his prime goal, to be a cruiserweight champion."