MMA legend Alistair Overeem says that Logan Paul and his brother Jake are not having “real fights” with their foray into the boxing world.
Influencer boxing has been on the rise over the last few years, and while it’s gained plenty of fans, there are still real fighters who are skeptical about it all.
Plenty of boxers and Mixed Martial Artists have laughed off the likes of Jake and Logan Paul joining the professional ranks, even though Jake has a perfect record and Logan got a draw from his bout with Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather.
Some of Jake’s wins have come under the microscope from skeptics, claiming the results are decided beforehand and it’s all an act like professional wrestling. Now, UFC legend Alistair Overeem has chimed in.
The Dutch kickboxer, who spent a decade with the UFC, joined Chris Weidman on his ‘Won’t Back Down’ podcast when the topic of possibly fighting one of the Paul brothers came up.
Overeem acknowledged that the YouTubers are doing “good business” with their bouts, but believes they’re “orchestrated” and doubts they’d ever make the jump into the MMA world.
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“Good for them but they would never, if it becomes threatening or dangerous, they’d never do it. They would never come into MMA,” he told Weidman. “They are doing something that they feel is ‘hey, this kind of feels like the cards are stacked on my side’ but they would never take a risk to really get hurt like we’re doing – a real fight against a real killer. Time and time again they are doing the safe, easy, playing part. It’s not real fights what they’re doing.”
Timestamp of 25:20
While skeptism may linger around the results, the YouTubers have suffered through the wear and tear of fighting, each picking up different injuries after recent bouts.
In terms of stepping into the Octagon, Bellator president Scott Coker has encouraged the Paul’s to make the switch and make the most of their amateur wrestling background. Though, who knows if that will ever happen.