CLEVELAND, OHIO: Former Disney star Jake Paul has gained notoriety in the realm of combat sports as a professional boxer. In the ring, he has defeated MMA stars like Tyron Woodley aka The Chosen One, Anderson Silva, and Ben Askren aka Funky.
Paul, who made a name for himself by regularly criticizing Dana White and the terms of his promotion as well as making numerous references to UFC competitors, is expected to make his MMA debut in the near future after signing a contract with the Professional Fighters League (PFL) earlier this year.
‘You can make him uncomfortable’
Many have questioned Paul's capacity to succeed in the all-encompassing combat sport ever since the arrangement was revealed. Paulie Malignaggi, a former two-division boxing champion, asserts that Paul won't feel out of place in the ring.
Malignaggi evaluated Paul's MMA goals and how he'd do against the best superstar the sport has ever produced during a recent interview with Lord Ping. There is no doubt that Conor McGregor and Paulie Malignaggi have a history together. Their conflict began as a result of a dispute over a sparring video that surfaced before the Irishman's 2017 fight with Floyd Mayweather.
Malignaggi said, “Jake has a high school wrestler background, so he would not be totally out of his element in the cage. He'd need to be alert to his kicks, but McGregor [has] absolutely no balls. If you make him just a little bit uncomfortable, you are going to put yourself in a position where you might win the fight.”
He added, “You can make him uncomfortable by beating on him, or if he's beating on you, if you just hang in the fight he begins to get nervous and paranoid. He's not a true fighter,” Malignaggi continued. “He looks for the first window to jump out of. He's got athletic ability but his anxiety levels get high. That's why he gets so tired in fights.”
‘He's got no balls’
Malignaggi continued by endorsing Paul to give McGregor "trouble" inside the ring. He said, “This guy posts pictures of him running up mountains, swimming 25 miles, bicycling through the desert just to make himself look like he's Rocky during training. And then he gets in the cage and he's tired after 30 seconds. He's got no balls. There's no way you can get that tired unless your anxiety levels are through the roof. He gets scared there.”
He concluded by saying, “Jake just needs the ability to hang in there and he can start to trouble him a little. He can put himself in the position to win the fight. I think McGregor's boxing is brutally bad, but at this point, even in MMA, if you hang with him, he will get uncomfortable.”
