Watch: Daniel Cormier confronts Jake Paul in heated moment at UFC 261
Jake Paul has somehow managed to start off a rivalry with former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier.
it all started when Daniel Cormier called Jake Paul's close friend and teammate J'Leon Love out for being disrespectful to Tyron Woodley, who was present at the Triller event to corner Ben Askren.
Jake Paul takes no criticism kindly, and no one was surprised when he immediately called DC out for a fight, calling him "fat boy" and threatening to "cook him up Cleveland style".
Present as an analyst and a commentator at UFC 261 on April 24, 2021, Daniel Cormier confronted Jake Paul in person in front of a live crowd at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. This is the first time the UFC opened their doors to the fans in full capacity since March 2020.
Here's a clip of the confrontation.
Here's a video from a different angle.
It cannot be heard what Jake Paul and Daniel Cormier said to each other, but the chant of the crowd is quite audible.
UFC 261 crowd starts a chant against Jake Paul
The MMA fans present at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena did not seem to like the YouTuber-turned-boxer and started a "F*** Jake Paul" chant as the preliminary card of the night unfolded.
Jake Paul entered the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena during the final fight of the prelims between Randy Brown and Alex Oliveira. The crowd, upon spotting him, immediately started the chant, which got the attention of Daniel Cormier at the commentary desk.
"I just saw Jake Paul. I pointed at him and said, 'Don't play with me' because I will smack him in the face," Daniel Cormier said during the fight.
Earlier, responding to Jake Paul's callout, Daniel Cormier told Ariel Helwani on their shared podcast that he would never "punch down" and fight someone like Jake Paul.
"I would kill him. Why would I ever fight someone like that? But my immediate reaction was, ‘I can’t stand this kid.’ So it works! I can’t stand this kid! But who punches down? You don’t punch down to somebody. I’m the guy that’s in the Hall of Fame. I’m the guy that won two world championships at the same time. I’m not gonna punch down to some kid that’s on YouTube that’s, like, ‘Fight me!’ Like, why? What have you done to earn the right to fight me? So, no, it’s silly and stupid."
In response, Jake Paul went live on his brother Logan Paul's Impaulsive podcast, saying he would "beat the f*** out Cormier".