Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
- MMA fighters Ben Askren and Dillon Danis have responded on Twitter to the YouTube creator Jake Paul’s challenge to fight him in a boxing ring.
- Paul knocked out Nate Robinson in the second round of a mismatched fight on Saturday, and is looking for his next opponent.
- He told Insider last week that he would happily fight Askren using boxing rules, and would regard the match as a stepping-stone toward coaxing Conor McGregor back into boxing.
- Paul is seemingly keeping his options open as he also posted a YouTube message for his rival creator KSI.
- “I just became the biggest prizefighter overnight,” Paul said in the video message. “I’m about to f— you up.”
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Two well-known MMA fighters have responded positively to Jake Paul’s challenge to meet him in the boxing ring.
The YouTuber and novice boxer advanced his pro record to two wins (two knockouts) with a brutal second-round finish against Nate Robinson on the card of Saturday’s Mike Tyson v. Roy Jones Jr. show in Los Angeles.
So severe was the pounding that it left the three-time slam dunk champion face-down, motionless on the canvas, and open to mockery from the NBA world.
Before his fight with Robinson, however, Paul vowed to Insider that he’d violently beat Robinson and then lure MMA fighters into pro boxing bouts.
He specifically mentioned Ben Askren and Conor McGregor to us, and Askren has already responded.
"Who wouldn't want to get paid to beat-up a no talent YouTube star who nobody likes?" — the former Bellator champion, One champion, and UFC competitor said on Twitter.
Dillon Danis also spoke out on social media
Photo by Getty Images
Askren is not the only MMA fighter to speak out on social media, as one of McGregor's friends and training partners, Dillon Danis, also trash-talked Paul.
Danis is a 2-0 MMA fighter with both of those wins coming by submission in Bellator MMA.
A black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu, Danis beat Kyle Walker in his debut with a toe hold in 2018, and then submitted Max Humphrey with an armbar in 2019.
At a post-event press conference, Paul said he is aware that any fight with McGregor would not "realistically happen for a couple of fights" and is targeting Danis first.
He said: "I want to knock out everyone in his camp. Dillon Danis is in his corner. He's the guy who got punched by Khabib [Nurmagomedov], that's what he's known for."
"You just fought a retired NBA reject," Danis said. "Be careful what you wish for, little guy."
He also tweeted a photograph of Paul in a tiger costume with a Spiderman crotch, pretending to growl in front of a "Spy Kids" poster, alongside a caption he wrote which said: "Dance for me, b----."
—Dillon Danis (@dillondanis) November 29, 2020
Danis is yet to compete in 2020, fighting more on social media than in the Bellator cage.
Fighting Danis would be 'very embarrassing' for Paul
When in Dublin for a Bellator MMA show in 2019, Insider visited the Straight Blast Gym in the Inchicore district of Dublin — home of McGregor.
The gym is run by head coach John Kavanagh, who trains McGregor, Danis, and James Gallagher among other prized pupils.
Even back then there was a back-and-forth between Danis and Paul. Kavanagh told us that the bout would generate a lot of money, but would be a straight-forward win for Danis.
"It's not really for me," Kavanagh told us. "I'd just leave them at it.
"Dillon Danis is so far ahead of Jake Paul. Some people might read this and go, 'Oh well, Conor [McGregor] fought [Floyd] Mayweather and that was a joke.' But it wasn't. It was two very amazing combat sports athletes.
"Dillon Danis is a professional fighter, an excellent fighter. Jake Paul is a personality. It would be a very embarrassing fight for him, what Dillon could do to him."
While Danis and Kavanagh have both previously responded to Paul's antics, Kavanagh's marquee fighter remains silent.
Though Paul repeatedly called-out McGregor's name last week, and then again after he'd separated Robinson from his senses, the former two-weight UFC striker's social media channels, while active, are paying Paul no attention.
McGregor seems focused on his return to the Octagon. He fights Dustin Poirier in a lightweight match on January 23, a bout that will likely headline the UFC's return to Fight Island on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
Paul has since turned to fellow YouTuber KSI
Photo by Jake Paul / YouTube
Sitting shirtless in what looked like his after-party following the Robinson win, Paul sent a message to fellow creator KSI having seemingly moved on from Askren, Danis, and McGregor.
"Let's get the fight happening," he said in a video on his YouTube channel which has been watched 1 million times.
KSI has twice fought Paul's brother, Logan.
The first was a draw in an unlicensed bout in 2018, which was the catalyst for the explosion in YouTube boxing, and the second was a split decision win in a professional setting.
"You're scared, dog, I know you are," Paul said in the message to KSI.
"I just became the biggest prizefighter overnight. Feels good to be on the A-side. We can get you a decent amount of money, we'll talk to your manager … obviously, I'm getting more.
"It's going to happen, so just sign the contract, bro. I'm about to f--- you up."
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