Jake Paul has been medically cleared to fight again after recovering from a broken jaw, and his promoter wasted no time taking a victory lap. Most Valuable Promotions posted a clip on X Thursday of CEO Nakisa Bidarian reacting to the news, with the promotion pulling one line front and center: “The ‘YouTuber’ never left boxing. He reinvigorated the sport.”
Paul confirmed the clearance himself and reminded everyone the injury wasn’t a scratch. “Nobody wants the broken jaw and two surgeries,” he wrote on X, adding that you can’t chase the highlight reel without risking exactly that.
Then he got to the fun part. ESPN reported Paul has a wish list spanning boxing and MMA, and he published it on X under the heading “Before I rest…” The names: Canelo Alvarez, Francis Ngannou, Conor McGregor (boxing and MMA), Sean Strickland, Darren Till, Ryan Garcia, KSI, Chris Eubank, Edgar Berlanga, Tom Aspinall (boxing), Deontay Wilder and Nate Diaz (MMA). He also included an unnamed opponent he blamed for ruining a past fight, plus a world title, and tagged Bidarian with “Make it happen.” No date or opponent has been announced.
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The Strickland Wrinkle
One of those names is actively waving back. Strickland, a two-time UFC middleweight champion who reclaimed the belt with a split decision over the previously unbeaten Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 328, spent Wednesday on social media unloading about UFC pay. He pointed to McGregor reportedly making $30 million and Zuffa Boxing’s reported $15 million signing of Conor Benn, then floated vacating his title.
“Contemplating just going to 205, knocking out my contract and scrapping with Jake Paul. That sounds fun,” Strickland wrote on X.
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Paul answered on X Thursday, telling Strickland he’d seen his texts, asking whether he’s actually out of contract, and suggesting whoever is promoting him should pick up the phone and call MVP. Paulo Costa also jumped into Strickland’s mentions saying he had a solution and had sent a message.
The contract question is the whole ballgame. MMA Fighting noted it isn’t known how many bouts remain on Strickland’s UFC deal. Meanwhile his presumptive next challenger, Nassourdine Imavov, is riding a five-fight win streak and confronted Strickland in Las Vegas this week, demanding to know why he hadn’t signed. Strickland called the run-in “fake content” on Instagram and walked away from it on video.
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My take: the Canelo line is a vision board, and Paul knows it. Strickland is the one name on this list who wants the fight out loud, in public, with a grudge against his own employer as fuel. That’s catnip for me. A sitting UFC champ who calls his own company’s pay structure predatory, trying to speed-run a contract at 205 just to get to the bag Paul represents? That’s a better promo than half the cards I’ll watch this fall. The problem is Strickland can tweet his way to the door but can’t tweet his way through it, and until somebody at MVP gets a call from someone who actually controls his contract, Paul’s hit list is a group chat. Imavov is still standing in that hallway waiting for a signature.
