One of UFC President Dana White’s biggest detractors is officially joining the organization’s biggest competition. Jake Paul announced on Thursday that he is joining the Professional Fighters League as a fighter and an equity owner.
Jake Paul has signed a multi-year contract with the Professional Fighters League to compete in a new division — Super Fight — with events on PPV.
Paul now owns an equity share of the PFL, per @nytimes, and his official role is “Head of Fighter Advocacy.” pic.twitter.com/8qULIBpZ4t
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) January 5, 2023
Paul joins the PFL as the head of fighter advocacy, per the New York Times, and has committed pursue MMA while continuing boxing, where he’s racked up a 6-0 record, including a recent win over 47-year-old Anderson Silva. Paul’s introduction to the PFL is not in the traditional sense of joining a weight division, rather the newly-formed Super Fight division, where fighters will earn at least 50 percent of the pay-per-view revenue, with bouts distributed by ESPN and the streaming service DAZN, per the report.
This division is in direct competition for some of the UFC’s top stars, coming off the back of fighters like Jorge Masvidal demanding more than 18 percent of UFC PPV revenues in recent years.
Paul plans to make a splash upon joining the PFL, challenging Nate Diaz to a boxing match followed by an MMA fight in 2023. In joining the PFL’s Super Fight division alongside two-time PFL champion and Olympic gold medalist, Kayla Harrison, the PFL is clearly looking to turn the sport of MMA on its head.