This is the online version of our morning newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning.
Yesterday I wrote right here in the Morning Win that Jake Paul’s beef with Dana White was getting entertaining, as the YouTube star/boxer took some shots at the UFC boss about how he doesn’t pay fighters enough money.
That was good thing for UFC fighters, who need to make more money for what they do.
Then a few hours later on Monday something really silly in the UFC/Paul world happened – Daniel Cormier said he wanted to fight Paul, but in a MMA fight.
“Why would I go and box Jake Paul? Who I am doesn’t make me chase anything. I made my money as the heavyweight champion of the world. I don’t have to chase a payday,” Cormier said on his ESPN show with Ariel Helwani. “This kid wants to fight? OK, I’ll fight him. But it’ll be a mixed martial arts competition.”
And, well, folks, I think this whole thing just jumped the shark.
Cormier, who had a heated run-in with Paul at UFC 261 last Saturday night, is one of just a few UFC fighters to have won belts in two different divisions – light heavyweight and heavyweight. His last fight was just last August when he went five rounds with Stipe Miocic in their trilogy fight. If he unretired right now he’d be a challenger for both belts again.
There’s just no way a fight with somebody with the skillset and experience of Paul would ever be allowed. And even though I’m not a Paul fan, it wouldn’t be safe for him to take on DC. He could get seriously injured.
This whole thing would be like if some little league baseball player called out LeBron James and then LeBron said he’d take the kid on, but only in hoops.
It just can’t happen and is just so silly.
The only Jake Paul fight that I want to see going forward, and I can’t believe I just wrote that, is with former UFC welterweight champ, Tyron Woodley. The two have shared some shots on social media recently and there’s just no way Paul wants that fight. No way at all. Woodley is no Ben Askren, who wasn’t a striker and got knocked out by Paul in the first round of their fight a few weeks ago. Woodley would destroy Paul and it wouldn’t be close. And that could take a ton of wind out of Paul’s fighting sails.
But a MMA fight with Cormier, one of the greatest UFC champions in the history of the sport?
Yeah, get outta her with that talk.
Quick hits: Bryce Harper blows his own mind… Athletes getting paid in Bitcoin… NFL mock draft… And more.
– Bryce Harper’s reaction after a ball he hit in BP hit another ball in mid-air was too good.
– Trevor Lawrence and a bunch of other athletes are getting paid in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency.
– Henry McKenna’s latest NFL mock draft has the Saints trading way up to get a QB. Bring on the chaos!
– NFL fans had lots of jokes about Kyle Shanahan’s dark take on Jimmy Garoppolo’s playing status.
– UFC fighter Chris Weidman shared a video from his hospital bed in which he said he’s trying to find a silver lining in his gruesome leg injury.
– This video proves that they really need to bring back slam ball.