Logan Paul, KSI Fight to Majority Draw in Anticipated Battle of YouTube Stars

YouTube rapper KSI and vlogger Logan Paul fought to a majority draw Saturday in Manchester, England.

According to the Guardian's Bryan Armen Graham, one judge scored the fight 58-57 to KSI, with the other two scoring it even at 57-57.

The result constituted something of an upset. According to OddsShark, KSI was a -230 favorite (bet $230 to win $100) in June but fell to a +140 underdog by Friday.

Paul got off to a strong start, winning the first two rounds. He used his size and reach advantage to do some damage to KSI while keeping him at bay defensively.

However, Paul started running out of steam right about the third round, thus opening the door for KSI. KSI was more active in the third, and that continued into the fourth round as he continued to press his advantage.

The fifth and sixth rounds were largely tossups, with both fighters visibly fatigued:

KSI finished with a flourish in the sixth round, which may have been the decisive factor in the fight. He was more aggressive and landed more shots before the final bell.

KSI made his amateur boxing debut in February, beating Joe Weller via TKO in the third round. Almost immediately after the victory, he laid down his challenge to both Logan and Jake Paul.

"They both need slaps so it makes sense for me to call them out and for us to get in the boxing ring and we can scrap," KSI said, per the Newsbeat's Kameron Virk.

Jake Paul blithely dismissed the provocation:

The Paul brothers and KSI continued to exchange verbal jabs, including a pair of diss tracks from KSI and Logan Paul (warning: links contains profanity). They also nearly came to blows at a press conference in Los Angeles in June. KSI donned a blonde wig to imitate Paul, and Paul retaliated by pushing KSI. Security stepped in before the two YouTube stars got physical.

During the buildup to Saturday's event, it became clear the animosity between Paul and KSI wasn't manufactured.

This is the first of two fights pitting Paul against KSI. Their rivalry will shift to the United States for the rematch in February 2019, and they wasted little time hyping up their next encounter:

Considering he'll be fighting on home soil, Paul may have the edge the next time he and KSI step in the ring.

In the meantime, the Paul family can at least savor Jake's win over Deji, the younger brother of KSI. Deji's corner threw in the towel in the fifth round.