Jake Paul and his fiancée Jutta Leerdam, a Dutch speed skater who won gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics. [Getty Images]
Jake Paul and his fiancée Jutta Leerdam, a Dutch speed skater who won gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics. [Getty Images]

Jake Paul, the boxing influencer turned billionaire, is serious about stepping into the MMA cage as a competitor next year.

Paul heads the upstart MVP promotion and co-produced a successful MMA event with Netflix in May. He has fought regularly on the professional boxing circuit for the past five years but has yet to compete in MMA.

Nakisa Bidarian, co-founder of MVP and Paul's manager, said it is increasingly likely that MMA legend Royce Gracie will take charge of Paul's jiu-jitsu training as he prepares for his debut.

"When Jake makes a decision, he goes all in on training," Bidarian told the New York Post recently. "When he decides to do something, he fully immerses himself and approaches it in a very professional way." He added that he had spoken with Gracie about the possibility of Gracie and his family joining Paul's jiu-jitsu training camp.

Royce Gracie is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in MMA history. The Brazilian fighter revolutionized combat sports by proving that jiu-jitsu could allow a smaller, lighter competitor to defeat opponents who were far bigger and stronger.

Gracie won three of the first four UFC tournaments — the first, second and fourth — and was later inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in recognition of those achievements.

As a promoter, Paul expanded his footprint further when MVP merged with the PFL on July 30. As a fighter, he has said he wants former UFC fighter Nate Diaz as his MMA debut opponent sometime next year.

"Stop running and fight me," Paul said, directing his words at Diaz. "This fight needs to happen for combat sports. It's needed to change the world, change history and change the landscape of combat sports forever."

Paul and Diaz previously met in a boxing match in 2023, with Paul winning by unanimous decision after 10 rounds.


yjc@heraldcorp.com