Oleksandr Usyk says he is ‘ready’ to fight Jake Paul in MMA following his vicious knockout win over Daniel Dubois on Saturday night.
The pair faced off in the ring at Wembley Stadium after the Ukrainian became a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion on away soil.
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Paul and Usyk faced off ahead of a possible MMA fightCredit: Instagram – Jake Paul
Usyk stopped Dubois in the fifth round to unify all four major sanctioning body belts once again, and is now expected to have one final fight in boxing before announcing his retirement.
Joseph Parker is the frontrunner to box Usyk next, with the WBO poised to order a mandatory bout with their interim champion.
However, the Ukrainian slickster could continue his career in the cage against YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul.
“Congrats to one of the greatest heavyweights of all time @usykaa on a huge win,” wrote Paul on social media in the immediate aftermath of Usyk’s masterclass in London who had earlier posted ‘Heavyweight incoming’ alongside a picture of himself at a recent weigh-in.
“I respect you a lot. Now we do an MMA match for the world @MostVpromotions.
“Ukraine should be so proud of this warrior.”
Usyk sealed the deal with a handshake in the ring and then went on to tell assembled media at his post-fight press conference: “Yes, I am ready [to fight Jake Paul] but I need to rest.”
Paul then called on his manager Nakisa Bidarian to sort the fight, posting: “Yo @nakisa_bidarian get all these fights signed up. It’s go time.”
This isn’t the first time an MMA fight between Usyk and Paul has been talked up.
Bidarian confirmed earlier this year that both camps had touched bases about a battle in the Octagon.
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Paul is technically a PFL fighter – even though he’s never fought in MMACredit: PFL
“Usyk has called out Jake multiple times in MMA,” said Bidarian in May.
“They’ve been in touch with us behind the scenes, saying they want to do that fight in 2026.
“So it’s something that we definitely want to pursue.”
On a possible switch to MMA and a fight with Usyk, Paul added at the time: “I want to test my skills in the cage.
“That’s something I’m super, super interested in, and I think it would be a very, very big spectacle.
“Nate Diaz is still ducking, but we would need to find the right opponent. [Oleksandr] Usyk, maybe.
“I haven’t started any MMA training, so it would definitely be interesting, but we are looking at 2026 for that as a possibility.”
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Usyk destroyed Dubois at Wembley
Paul joined MMA organisation PFL in 2023 but is yet to make his debut.
A rematch with Nate Diaz in the PFL Smart Cage was mooted for last year.
However, the fight never came to fruition.
Usyk, meanwhile, spoke further about his future plans following his stunning win over Dubois.
He said simply in the ring: “Nothing. It’s enough.
“Next, I don’t know. I want to rest. I don’t know. I want to be back home with my family, my wife, my children.
“I want to rest now, but maybe two, three months… I want to rest. Just rest.”