Outside Source
Ngannou will face Philipe Lins in the co-main event of the Ronda Rousey–Gina Carano card staged by Most Valuable Promotions on May 16 at the Intuit Center in Los Angeles. During a press conference on Tuesday, Ngannou addressed the possibility of fighting Paul down the road.
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“No, I’m not interested in fighting Jake Paul,” Ngannou said. “I’m interested in beating his ass. Not fighting him.”
Paul, the former YouTube personality who has fashioned a career as professional boxer, is also the MVP co-founder and was in attendance at the presser. Paul didn’t back down from the challenge when given the microphone, though it appears “The Problem Child” would prefer the fight take place in boxing rather than MMA.
“I’m down. I’ve always been down. You were the option before Anthony Joshua, and you ran like a duck,” Paul said. “And I bet you didn’t think I would last longer than you did with Anthony, either. So, you just know that you get worked in boxing. And I would love to see it someday.”
A Matter of Respect
Both Ngannou and Paul have a common boxing opponent in Joshua. After dropping a closely-contested split-decision loss to Tyson Fury in October 2023, Ngannou suffered a second-round knockout loss against Joshua in March 2024.
Paul squared off against Joshua this past December, falling via sixth-round knockout after spending much of the bout either circling away or desperately clinching against his larger opponent. Paul suffered a broken jaw that required surgery as a result of the damage he absorbed in the fight.
Prior to facing Joshua, Paul had expressed interest in locking horns with Ngannou. “The Predator” is far more motivated to face Paul now than he was then.
“You were just being a small boy, not understanding, being a little disrespectful, and that’s why I want to kick your ass now,” Ngannou said. “I really didn’t want to fight you, but now I want to beat you. There’s a difference.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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