Logan Paul plans to fight in MMA at least once
Logan Paul is focused on his boxing career - and, specifically, his exhibition match against Floyd Mayweather on June 6 - but the YouTube star wants to try his hand in mixed martial arts down the road.
Paul, who's 0-1 as a professional boxer, said Friday that he plans to step into the cage at least once and believes he would be a better MMA fighter than boxer because he wrestled in high school.
"Absolutely," Paul said on the Bellator 259 broadcast when asked if he would be interested in crossing over one day. "I actually think I would probably be better at MMA because of my wrestling background.
"I will say it is a tough sport. It's harder than boxing. MMA fighters are legitimate, all-around, 360-degree fighters. I've had some knee issues on both knees, and it's rough on the body. But I can't not do one MMA fight before I die. I'm going to do at least one. And if I win, I'll probably do another."
For now, though, Paul is set to face Mayweather in two weeks at a Showtime pay-per-view event in what will be his highest-profile matchup to date.
While the exhibition won't count toward either man's professional boxing record, Paul said he's treating it like a real fight and expects Mayweather to do the same.
"It's not an exhibition," Paul said. "I've been saying this - what exhibition is eight three-minute rounds? This is a fight. ... And if Floyd didn't want to rip my head off before my brother (Jake) took his hat, now he's trying to kill me. He's trying to make an example of the big brother so the younger brother has to suffer and watch and witness. ... This is going to be a war."
Paul is a massive underdog for the contest. Mayweather will be at a size and age disadvantage, but he's one of the greatest boxers of his generation. Paul, meanwhile, is winless across two boxing appearances as a professional and amateur.
However, the 26-year-old believes the match will be closer than the odds indicate and said it would be foolish to count him out.
"I am not going to make this shit easy for him," Paul said. "We've been training our asses off for eight months now preparing to fight this guy. ... I have nothing to lose. I'm going in there with that energy. He's got everything to lose. There's a lot on the table for him, not a lot on the table for me - and that's a dangerous man."
He continued: "For those people telling me that it's impossible (to win), you'd be lying if you said there wasn't a chance that I could beat him. So yeah, I think I'm going to go in there and decapitate him in the first round. And if it doesn't happen, we're going for the second, and then the third, and the fourth. Who knows? It could go the distance. But it's going to be a f------ show regardless."