Bellator president Scott Coker could be in the Jake Paul business if the polarizing YouTuber turned boxer transitions to MMA.
Paul is coming off of his sixth-round knockout over former UFC champion Tyron Woodley just weeks ago. Leading up to the rematch with Woodley, he hinted at a future move to MMA and has allegedly been in talks with the famous American Kickboxing Academy in California.
Coker and Bellator just enjoyed arguably the biggest year in the promotion’s history in 2021. New stars arose, such as AJ McKee, and Bellator made the broadcasting transition to Showtime with relative ease.
Coker and his promotion are constantly looking for new talent and aren’t ruling out eventually signing either one or both of the Paul brothers. During a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Coker praised the Paul brothers and expressed a profound interest in signing Jake specifically.
Scott Coker Remains Interested In Signing Jake Paul To Bellator
“If you want to come into MMA, we would gladly do it,” Coker said. “Think about this: He’s not saying, ‘I’m going to go train here. I’m going to go train there.’ He’s going to come to one of the best gyms on the planet, where Khabib is, where Daniel Cormier is still training, where Cain Velasquez is teaching there now, and he’s going to go into an environment that he is going to flourish.”
“He wants to do it,” Coker continued. “The only thing I will say is, my understanding is he wants to get 10 fights into boxing, and then after that come over to mixed martial arts. I know certain people feel a certain way, but I tell you, don’t underestimate these guys because when they have their minds made up, it just seems like that they’re able to fulfill their destiny.”
Paul has been at odds with Coker’s former business partner, UFC president Dana White. The two have gone back-and-forth on social media and they’ve accused one another of doping.
Paul has said in the past that he intends to move to MMA at some point after a few more boxing fights, and it sounds like Bellator may be in the front of the line to potentially sign him.
What do you think about Bellator’s interest in Jake Paul?