Photo credit to Sportingnews.com
Jake Paul has signed with PFL and now it’s time to take back all criticism
In massive, positive news in the MMA world last week, pro-boxer Jake Paul (notice he’s no longer celebrity boxer) announced he has signed with the PFL for 2023, and there are quite a few takeaways from that announcement.
First and foremost, the creation of the “PFL PPV Super Fights” which will bring in Jake Paul and line himself and many other notable fighters who will compete on pay-per-view, which in turns means much more money. In the announcement of his signing he also stated that there will be a 50-50 revenue split to the fighters that compete on the PPV events, which falls in line with his stance on being “fighter first” and caring about the financial benefit of fighters.
Secondly, Jake Paul was named the Head of Fighter Advocacy, which will further his commitment to the well-being of fighters, the financial gains for fighters, and their overall brand growth. All of this coming with the PFL, which has continued to set new precedents as a top competitor to the UFC.
Granted, everything needs to take place according to plan, but the PFL and Jake Paul have recently shown that everything they put themselves out to do, they’re doing that and more. Paul has gone on to win multiple boxing matches, including a knockout of former UFC champion Tyron Woodley and winning a decision over former UFC middleweight champion, Anderson Silva, where Paul scored a knockdown.
He backed up his words and then some in boxing, even when people like myself criticized and doubted him the most. The unfortunate side of where boxing (and combat sports) are in 2023 is the social media era, which Paul isn’t to blame for, because he’s actually changed the game and made something of it.
Too often, celebrities and social media influencers want to get involved in combat sports, specifically boxing, because it;s fun to fight and there’s plenty of money to be made if the following is there. However, too often, those same people just want to create a meaningless highlight for themselves, collect a check, and bounce.
That is not Jake Paul. “The Problem Child” has gone from fighting NBA players to legitimate professional fighters, beating them, and although they were known for their MMA careers, he’s now entering a sport many thought he would never commit to. Not only has he done just that, he’s committed to making a difference.
A difference in fighter revenue, a difference in fighter respect, a difference with the PFL, and it could have very long-term changes for the sport of mixed martial arts, and now is the time to pay attention and give him the respect he deserves.
He’s fought when people said he wouldn’t, he’s won the fights people said he wouldn’t, and most importantly, he’s made moves inside and outside the combat sports world to bring change and silence critics.
It took a long time to own up to being wrong about Jake Paul’s presence, but as he moves into MMA, and if he follows through on all of the things he plans to do, it’ll have more meaning than his win-loss record inside the sport.
For someone like myself, Paul has shown that his fight nickname might be “The Problem Child” but if he stays on the path he’s currently on, he could be “The Problem Solver” and, more importantly, he might just be exactly what MMA needs in terms of equality, respect, and financial freedom that fighters have been looking for.
Jake Paul has already changed the sport of boxing and as he said, he still plans to pursue a world title, but if he’s adding changing MMA to his plans, he might just be exactly what combat sports as a whole, has needed.
I was wrong about you, Jake Paul and now I’m excited to see what you do next, inside the cage and outside.
