Jake Paul says no date yet for Usyk fight

Jake Paul said there is no date currently for a potential fight with Oleksandr Usyk, but he still expects the matchup to stay alive over the next 24 months. He framed it as a fight both camps want, while making clear he is looking beyond a standard boxing ring.

Usyk and the Octagon

“No date currently,” Paul said in an interview with Complex News. He added, “But it's definitely in both of our cards. He really wants to do it. His team really wants to do it. I really want to do it. My team wants to do it. So we'll see what happens in the next 24 months. But I think it would be highly entertaining.”

Paul also spoke about the matchup in MMA terms, saying Usyk would likely beat him early if they fought there. “He would probably murder me pretty early. I think he would just pick me up and... I don't even know,” he said. He then pointed to his own route to a win: “And yeah, fighting him in MMA, I think my only chance would be like trying to get a takedown and submitting him. Because I'm not going to try to sit there and exchange with the guy or get kicked by him. But I'm down for the challenge. I think for me, those types of things are fun.”

Paul's other fight targets

Paul said the Usyk fight sits alongside other crossover ideas, including Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov. “I've always said one of the biggest fights that could happen in the world is me versus [Conor] McGregor in MMA,” he said, and added, “And I'm down. But also me versus Khabib in MMA would be massive. So we need to get Khabib out of retirement.”

The 29-year-old also revisited his feud with Dana White, tying it back to a 2021 bet on Ben Askren. “This is the guy who was trying to pay millions of dollars — he was paying Ben Askren in training camp, getting him coaches, and then tried to place a million-dollar bet that Ben Askren would beat me,” Paul said. “And then he no-showed after I knocked him out in the first round. So Dana, where's my money? You still owe me a million.”

For now, the practical takeaway is simple: Paul has not set a date, but he has kept Usyk on the board and widened the market around himself by naming MMA targets too. That keeps the negotiation value high, and it leaves the next move with the fighters, their teams, and whoever can turn one of these crossover ideas into an actual booking.