Chris Leben, Dillon Danis among MMA fighters campaigning to fight Jake Paul next

Jake Paul got the biggest win of his young combat sports career last night when he knocked out high-level wrestler and former MMA champion…

By: Tim Bissell | 2 years ago
Chris Leben, Dillon Danis among MMA fighters campaigning to fight Jake Paul next
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Jake Paul got the biggest win of his young combat sports career last night when he knocked out high-level wrestler and former MMA champion Ben Askren. The event, which is trending to be a commercial success, resulted in a million dollar payday for Askren.

It should surprise nobody that a cadre of fighters are now vying for the next big Paul brother pay-cheque. Among them are a UFC Hall of Famer and a BJJ ace.

Chris Leben, an alum from the first season of The Ultimate Fighter and who recently announced his retirement from the fight game after a run in bare knuckle boxing, was one of the first to hop on Twitter and campaign for the fight. Leben tweeted, “Seems we need to settle some scores with some boxers” and a gif of the grim reaper with the comment “Say when.”

Bellator’s Dillon Danis, a decorated BJJ black belt who is 2-0 in MMA, has long campaigned for a fight with Paul. In the past Paul has seem satisfied with just trolling (and waterballooning) Danis. After Paul’s latest big splash, Danis tweeted, “it’s on 100% send me the contract let’s do this I’m gonna put this c—t out cold.”

Paul, who was also called out by BJ Penn, seems to be unsure about who to face next. He asked on Twitter, “Who should I retire next?” when reacting to a clip of Askren saying he won’t return to the boxing ring.

That comment seemed to irk elite kickboxer and 1-2 MMA fighter Gokhan Saki, who had a warning for Paul.

“You won a striking match against a wrestler. Don’t let it go to your head kid. Real fights you wouldn’t survive,” wrote ‘The Rebel’. He followed that up with a prediction. “Next will be a striking match against a judo guy, soccer player, tennis player, chess champion, badminton? That’s what real fighters do man.”

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About the author
Tim Bissell
Tim Bissell

Tim Bissell is a writer, editor and deputy site manager for Bloody Elbow. He has covered combat sports since 2015. Tim covers news and events and has also written longform and investigative pieces. Among Tim's specialties are the intersections between crime and combat sports. Tim has also covered head trauma, concussions and CTE in great detail.

Tim is also BE's lead (only) sumo reporter. He blogs about that sport here and on his own substack, Sumo Stomp!

Email me at tim@bloodyelbow.com. Nice messages will get a response.

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