Francis Ngannou shares his demands for potential Jake Paul fight: "Respect me a little bit"
Francis Ngannou recently weighed in on the idea of a fight against Jake Paul materializing and noted that it's not something he is actively pursuing. Both competitors are under contact with the PFL, and so it wouldn't be difficult to book if they were interested.
'The Problem Child' is coming off his unanimous decision win over former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson and has received callouts from several active elite-level pugilists.
Following his win, he got into a brief back-and-forth exchange with 'The Predator' on social media as the former UFC heavyweight champion complimented Tyson, who helped train him for his boxing debut against Tyson Fury. The exchange led many in the MMA community to believe that perhaps the two were planting the seeds for a potential bout, but that doesn't appear to be the case.
While speaking to TMZ Sports, the reigning PFL heavyweight Super Fights champion discussed his exchange with the YouTuber-turned-boxer and answered whether he would actually fight him.
Ngannou mentioned that a bout against Paul wouldn't be logical and highlighted that there is a significant gap in their respective skill level:
"No, no, no, c'mon don't be silly...Maybe if we put the two Paul brothers in the cage and then maybe there is something to do there. Come on, like, respect me a little bit...Yeah, [I respect Paul]...remember we are doing entertainment and they were on Netflix and when you subscribe [to] Netflix, you go there for entertainment. And if this is not entertainment, I don't know what you are looking for." [1:25]
Check out the full interview with Francis Ngannou below:
What did Francis Ngannou and Jake Paul say during their exchange on X?
Francis Ngannou and Jake Paul had an exchange on social media that caught the attention of the MMA community, especially considering that the PFL has the ability to book a fight between them.
Following 'The Problem Child's' win over Mike Tyson, the reigning PFL heavyweight Super Fights champion lavished praise on Tyson and issued a warning to Paul on what he will do the next time he sees him:
"The next time I see this @jakepaul guy I'm gonna give him 2 or 3 slaps"
Paul then responded to Ngannou and took a jibe at him by suggesting he isn't better than Jon Jones:
"Clout chasing doesn't suit you legend. Maybe Jon Jones is the better heavyweight after all"
Check out the X exchange between Francis Ngannou and Jake Paul below: