The 4 Best Opponents for Jake Paul's Next Fight

Well, Jake Paul didn't see this coming, did he?

The social media influencer/combat sports instigator took another trip through the ropes and into the ring—this time in front of 15,000 fans at an outdoor venue in Saudi Arabia—but saw his brand tarnished thanks to a split-decision loss to British wannabe Tommy Fury.

The loss was the first after six straight wins for Paul, who began a now-three-year second career with a fellow YouTuber before graduating to an ex-NBA player and three declining/retired MMA fighters (Tyron Woodley twice) across four subsequent fights.

The date with Fury, half-brother to heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, was seen by some as a step toward legitimacy for Paul thanks to Fury's own unbeaten record. Though inspection of that record shows his previous opponents arrived with a combined 24-176-5 mark.

Nevertheless, it was a difficult step, as Paul was frequently speared with hard jabs and hit with counters by Fury, who both threw (302-157) and landed (88-49) in much higher volume.

It leaves the immediate future in some doubt for the self-dubbed "Problem Child," whose contract with Fury didn't include a rematch clause if he'd won but does leave the option open now that he's been defeated.

The surprise result prompted the B/R combat writing team to survey the landscape and suggest some options that'll make varying levels of sense.

Scroll through to see what we came up with and drop a thought of your own in the comments.

Let's face it: Neither Fury nor Paul is likely to be a world champion.

But it's no less true that their complementary skill sets—not to mention oil and water personalities—made for a pretty compelling run-up and a competitive novice-level fight.

So why not do it again?

As mentioned earlier, Paul had a rematch clause built in to the contract in the event that he lost, and both he and Fury seemed amenable to the idea in Sunday's immediate aftermath.

The B/R scorecard had it 5-2 in rounds in Fury's favor with one even (due to a point deduction), but there were enough close calls to make it realistic that even a marginal uptick in Paul's work rate and/or landing percentage could change the outcome.

"I'll come back," Paul said.

"I think we deserve the rematch. I don't know if I agree with the judges."

Blow-by-blow man Ray Flores foreshadowed a second meeting in Sunday's eighth round when he exclaimed, "It is clear that Jake Paul and Tommy Fury were meant for each other," and a victorious Fury had no hesitation in accepting the challenge if issued.

"All the way through these two-and-a-half years I had a dream. I had a vision that I would win this fight," he said. "This to me was a world title fight. And 100 percent. If he wants a rematch, bring it on."

Given that social media is where Paul became a name to an entire generation of nontraditional fight fans, it wouldn't be shocking to see him go there for a post-loss foe.

KSI is a 29-year-old Brit who has done rapping and acting, and he's also one of the few who can boast the sorts of subscriber/follower numbers—24 million on YouTube, 12.6 million on Instagram—that could command Paul's attention.

He's dipped his toes into the boxing waters as well and had a pro fight against Paul's brother, Logan, that ended with a split-decision victory three years ago in Los Angeles. Since then it's been three exhibitions against opponents ranging from a rapper and a journeyman fighter on the same night last summer in London to a fellow YouTuber in January.

And not surprisingly, KSI has expressed interest in what'd be a high-profile cash-out, though he insists the figures are not what he's chasing.

"Whether it's $10 million, $20 million, don't give a f--k," he told The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani. "I'm just there to destroy him. Money is not what drives me. Everyone knows this.

"I always say legacy. That's all. Whenever I'm training and it gets tough or I'm in hell, I'm there like, 'Legacy,' and that's what gets me through it. I'm not there like, 'I need to make more money.' Money comes anyway if you're successful in your field."

Meanwhile, if KSI's legacy dream doesn't come true, Paul could also run up big numbers with someone like Andrew Tate, too.

He has some combat sports experience thanks to 85 fights as a professional kickboxer from 2007 to 2020 and three more as an MMA competitor from 2007 to 2010.

The two went nose to nose for an Instagram video posted to Paul's account, and former UFC champ Henry Cejudo dissected a possible matchup on his own YouTube channel.

"I think Jake Paul gets it done pretty fairly quickly," he said. "Jake Paul goes high-low, low-high, he's been able to develop those two-three combinations, and if he can beat a guy like Anderson Silva convincingly like he did, then I think it would be easy work with Andrew Tate."

Lest anyone forget, Paul's first true boxing "highlight"—a brutal KO of NBA alum Nate Robinson—came on the undercard of the exhibition clinch-fest between celebrated ring retirees Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. in Los Angeles in late 2020.

That pay-per-view spectacle helped create a subsequent audience for both Paul and a run of recent ex-fighters to return to the ring, including Floyd Mayweather Jr., who boxed Logan Paul in an eight-rounder in Miami seven months after Tyson-Jones.

Mayweather has continued with a handful of subsequent exhibitions since, including a Saturday night date in London with Aaron Chalmers, who'd also been a professional in both the cage and the ring before moving on to reality TV stardom.

A former champion in five weight classes, Mayweather has suggested he'd only meet Paul in an exhibition but left the door open for an actual fight between the two if Paul could manage to make a competitive weight. Paul fought Fury near the cruiserweight limit, but Mayweather never fought professionally at a weight beyond 154 pounds.

"I think [Paul] was doing a sit-down on a podcast one time," Mayweather told TMZ, "and he talked about it and he said, 'I don't want to do an exhibition against Floyd Mayweather.' He said, 'I'm only doing real fights.' And of course, I can't get high up in weight, but I'll fight him in a real fight at the weight that I'm at."

Of course, like KSI and Tate before, even a once-beaten Paul will have a slew of other options beyond Mayweather if he decides on an ex-boxer for fight No. 8.

Among others, ex-light heavyweight and cruiserweight champ Antonio Tarver, now 54, had expressed an interest early in Paul's ring career and still seems engaged.

The former Olympic medalist who later beat Jones twice in three title fights at 175 pounds, competed professionally through 2015 and now trains his son, Antonio Jr., who's 11-0.

"Take a small risk," he tweeted. "Tarver-Paul. The real Fight Of The Ages."

Maybe it's because they don't like him.

Maybe it's because they're avenging Woodley, Silva and Ben Askren.

Or maybe it's because they recognize a serious payday when they see it.

For whatever reason, it's clear that MMA fighters have wanted a piece of Jake Paul.

Free-agent welterweight Nate Diaz completed his UFC obligations with a choke-out of Tony Ferguson last September in Las Vegas and immediately announced his intentions to take over another sport, setting his sights squarely on Paul in the boxing ring.

Paul's subsequent decision to take an ownership stake in the Professional Fighters League with the lure of a two-fight deal—one in boxing, one in MMA—seemingly sped up the prospect of a Diaz matchup, and he went on record during the Fury fight week suggesting that a match with the "Stockton Slapper" would be imminent.

And even off a loss, there's still enough name value to make it sellable.

"I think that's what the fans want, and that's who I want," Paul told The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani. "There's been a lot of back and forth, we've said our stuff, but it's time to get down to business."

And if not Diaz, perhaps one of his former foils would be interested.

Fury brought in Conor McGregor's nutritionist to help him prepare for his date with Paul, and it'd be no huge stretch to suggest that McGregor himself—who split two fights with Diaz and lost by 10th-round TKO to Mayweather in a boxing ring—would want a turn, too, given his preference for big events and massive paydays.

Paul made the first move with an expletive-laced callout video two years ago.

"My team sent you a $50 million offer this morning, $50 million cash, proof of funds, the biggest fight offer you've ever been offered," he said on YouTube. "But you're scared to fight me, Conor. You're ducking me because you don't want to lose to a f--king YouTuber."