Bryan Battle says he would welcome Jake Paul to MMA in a PFL fight

Bryan Battle, a former Ultimate Fighting Championship contender, said he would gladly welcome Jake Paul to mixed martial arts if the entertainment and combat-sports figure ever makes a move to compete under the Professional Fighters League umbrella. The comments add a new layer to the ongoing cross-pollination between mainstream combat sports and traditional MMA, where name recognition can drive attention while competitive credibility still depends on in-cage performance.

Battle’s pitch, as framed in the Yahoo Sports report, is simple: if Paul decides to stop at nothing and translate his combat-sports brand into MMA, Battle would be interested in being one of the fighters involved. For Battle, the appeal is both practical and symbolic, since a Paul fight would likely pull new viewers into a PFL product that has been marketed as an alternative to the UFC model, including its tournament-style structure.

The timing matters. According to the report, Paul helped spearhead a merger between PFL and his own promotion last month, suggesting that any eventual Paul-to-PFL scenario would not be a purely hypothetical matchmaking idea. Even so, no fight is confirmed from the report beyond Battle’s openness, and the reality of such a bout would ultimately depend on PFL decisions, Paul’s own choice to compete, and the matchmaking process that follows.

Battle’s background is one reason the idea of a Paul fight is more than just a novelty. As a UFC veteran, Battle has competed at the highest tier of MMA while facing opponents inside a sport that demands day-to-day refinement rather than occasional spectacle. That competitive foundation is exactly what makes a proposed matchup intriguing for fans and industry observers, because it would test whether Paul’s skills, conditioning, and ability to adapt under MMA-specific pressure translate against an established cage fighter.

The prospect also lands in a moment when PFL has increasingly leaned into big-event energy, using star power and mainstream visibility to broaden its audience. Celebrity crossover is not new to combat sports, but Paul is among the most visible names currently associated with the boxing side of the world. If Paul ever steps into MMA competition under PFL, the league would be betting that mainstream curiosity can coexist with credible matchmaking.

For MMA followers, the biggest question is not whether the pairing sounds marketable, but whether it becomes actionable. If Paul chooses to compete and PFL moves toward arranging the fight, Battle’s willingness could put him near the front of the conversation. If not, Battle’s comments still serve as a statement of intent from an MMA professional who appears ready to meet the challenge, rather than dodge it on credibility grounds.