The article provides thoughts about recent events in the world of combat sports, including Jake Paul’s boxing career, his potential future in MMA, and his performance against Nate Diaz, along with an analysis of Cory Sandhagen’s status when it comes to getting a title shot, Justin Gaethje‘s potential title shot, and reaction to the Reug Reug vs. Marcus Buchecha match at ONE Championship.
The recent week was chock full of action and developments in the combat sports world. Jake Paul made a victorious comeback against Nate Diaz, while Cory Sandhagen moved one step closer to a title shot, following a decent but forgettable win over Rob Font. Meanwhile, ONE Championship hosted some delightful tomfoolery on Friday. Fans have mixed opinions about Jake Paul and the authenticity of his boxing status. Although the narrative surrounding Paul’s boxing career seems more like a popular spectacle rather than traditional boxing, the fact remains that he does compete under the rules of boxing and has managed to generate a significant amount of money in the process.
One may argue that Paul isn’t up against the best competition, and that’s a fair point. Yet, a large majority of boxers are not pitted against top-tier opposition unless the stakes are high. Even though Paul may not fall into the category of a ‘top-tier’ boxer, he has managed to create a distinct space for himself in the boxing world. His ability and willingness to step into the ring against capable opponents, taking serious risks and performing on a massive platform sets him apart. Capitalizing on his external popularity, Paul has successfully drawn attention to his strategically chosen fights.
Continuing the discourse around Jake Paul’s trajectory, his victory over Anderson Silva hinted that the Paul versus MMA experiment may eventually end. However, Paul’s loss to Tommy Fury followed by a convincing win over the popular Nate Diaz brought him right back into the limelight. Yet, as appealing as this may be to fans and viewers, Paul doesn’t have many choices left in that regard since he has already defeated some significant opponents. The logical next step for Paul would be to inch towards a fight with Conor McGregor as this bout could potentially rake in millions of pay-per-view fans. In-between, he may compete against other popular names and perhaps even try his hand at MMA.
Shifting focus to potential crossovers, an interesting question that arises is the likelihood of an upset with Ngannou over Fury in boxing or Paul over Diaz in MMA. It seems more likely that Paul could beat Diaz in MMA, despite the understanding that Diaz would have a clear upper hand in a brawl. It’s also deemed nearly impossible for Ngannou to defeat Tyson Fury, despite the hard-hitting potential that Ngannou possesses. The outcomes depend on numerous factors and with boxing, things can get extremely unpredictable. As for Sandhagen, his win over Rob Font was a step forward nit it didn’t necessarily fast-track his way to a title shot. The match itself didn’t impress spectators and even prompted Dana White to leave mid-fight—an ominous sign for Sandhagen’s prospects.