Demetrious Johnson: ‘If Jake Paul Thinks He’s so great, He Needs To Try MMA’
Former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson says that Jake Paul should step inside the octagon if he’s going to continue his verbal attacks at mixed martial artists.
YouTube superstar Jake Paul has put in some impressive performances in the world of boxing with knockout wins over former MMA champions Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley. Paul recently hinted at a possible move to MMA with a brief video of him practicing a couple of leg kicks on Twitter.
The inaugural flyweight champion for the UFC, Demetrious Johnson believes that Paul needs to compete in MMA if he really wants to challenge himself. Speaking with MMA Junkie ahead of his hybrid MMA/Muay Thai bout, Johnson said, “If Jake Paul thinks he’s so f*cking bad at boxing and all that stuff, hats off. You’re 3-0, 4-0 as a boxer.
“Do f*cking mixed martial arts. I did an interview the other day and I was like, ‘Everybody is worried about fighting this person, let’s see how much money I can make from this person.’ I was like, ‘Just do mixed martial arts.’ You think you’re that great, just do it. If I thought I was a badass boxer, I would be like, ‘Let me just box.’ Even when they offered this fight to me, it’s Rodtang. I was like, ‘I’ll fight in muay Thai.’
He’s certainly backing up his word given the risk he’ll be taking against Muay Thai champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon on Saturday at ONE X in Singapore. ‘The Mighty Mouse’ continued by giving an insight into the mindset he carries now.
“I don’t give a f*ck. What’s the worst thing that could happen? I get knocked out? OK. I go back home, train, get ready for the next one. If I win, what’s gonna happen? I go home, go get ready for the next one. So, for me, I could say I did it, I tried.
“As you get older, you find that you don’t knock people for trying. For me, when someone is like, ‘Ah blah, blah, blah, you MMA guys suck.’ It’s like, ‘Then come do it.’ If you’re successful, good job. You lose, you tried it.”
How will Demetrious Johnson fare against a Muay Thai champion?
Demetrious Johnson’s bout with Rodtang is one of a kind with rules unlike any in recent years. His hybrid bout is scheduled for a balanced mix of two rounds of Muay Thai and MMA each. The fight was postponed following the viral outbreak in Singapore and will finally take place this Saturday.
The first and third rounds are to be contested under the rules of Muay Thai favoring Jitmuangnon whereas the second and fourth will be fought under MMA rules which may favor ‘The Mighty Mouse’. Each round is set to be for three minutes.
It appears to be a tough challenge for both fighters. Demetrious Johnson will need to be especially careful with his game plan to survive, if not win, the first and third rounds. If he gets clipped or makes a mistake in the first round of the fight, it could lead to a loss without a fair chance to show his dominance in MMA in the later rounds.
