Jake Paul’s MMA stint reportedly comes to an end before it begins

It appears Jake Paul’s attempt to join mixed martial arts is over before it even started. His contract with the Professional Fighters League (PFL) has reportedly ended after three years without him ever competing in a fight.

In January 2023, Jake Paul signed a multi-year contract with the PFL, with initial plans for him to compete in at least one MMA fight that year.

The new plans were announced alongside the creation of a ‘Super Fight’ division, which allowed matches between fighters of any weight. They also included a promise of better pay for fighters featured on pay-per-view events.

After three years, reports indicate that Paul is no longer with the PFL, having never actually competed in one of their professional fights.

Jake Paul’s contract with PFL reportedly expires

I just heard from Ariel Helwani, who’s usually spot-on with this stuff, that Jake Paul and the PFL are no longer working together. He announced it on his show yesterday, January 21st, 2026, so it seems pretty official!

According to reports, Jake Paul and his team have ended their relationship with the PFL, whether it was a formal business partnership or not.

The Jake Paul-PFL partnership seems to be over 😳 #HelwaniShow

— Uncrowned (@uncrownedcombat) January 21, 2026

Neither Paul nor the PFL has made any public statement regarding this issue since Helwani first reported it. This news follows closely after Donn Davis, the PFL’s founder and chairman, left the company.

When Paul first signed with the promotion, he expressed interest in fighting Nate Diaz in mixed martial arts and even did some kickboxing on camera to demonstrate. However, the fight eventually happened as a boxing match, which Paul won by the judges’ decision.

There was also some discussion about a potential MMA fight with current boxing heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, but that idea didn’t go anywhere.

Since then, Paul has fought several well-known boxers, with his match against Mike Tyson on Netflix being the most prominent. Throughout this time, the PFL continued to believe in Paul’s potential as an MMA fighter.

Back then, PFL’s Peter Murray said Jake Paul would fight in their cage in 2025, and that his boxing career would likely be over after his fight with Tyson.

However, that didn’t happen. Paul later boxed and defeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., but ultimately lost by knockout to Anthony Joshua.

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2026-01-22 07:49