UFC star Jorge Masvidal has backed Logan Paul to beat his fellow MMA fighter Paddy Pimblett in his octagon debut.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer has yet to win in his three boxing efforts and has now set his sights on a move to the UFC where he has called out Liverpool fighter Pimblett. The Brit has won his two outings in the promotion thus far, and has become one of the most talked-about prospects in combat sports.
And now Paul has set his sights on a bout against Pimblett, which Masvidal believes he could win. The YouTuber has argued that due to his constantly fluctuating weight between fights, Pimblett could easily move up to an appropriate division to fight him, despite generally competing around 35lb lighter than Paul.
And Masvidal believes that Paul's extensive high school wrestling background in Ohio, a powerhouse state for the sport, would be too much for the much smaller Pimblett to handle. "You'd have to go up a weight class, right?" Masvidal asked when the proposition was put to him on an episode of the YouTuber's Impaulsive podcast.
"F*** yeah [Paul would win a fight between the pair], Logan's got the wrestling and English people can't wrestle, bro."
Masvidal was unsure that the fight could happen, given the weight difference, but Paul reassured him that due to his ability to "get up there" with his outlandish diet after fights, that it could be done. "I called him out today on the MMA Hour," Paul explained.
"I said if I was going to fight someone in the octagon, in the UFC, I didn't have an answer for Dana White when he was on the show but it'd be Paddy 'the baddy'."
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And Masvidal has been unimpressed by the Brit thus far, despite his quick start in the UFC. He knocked out Luigi Vendramini before submitting Rodrigo Vargas, both within a round, but has looked to have a number of holes in his game thus far.
“I think he’s entertaining as f***," Masvidal said. "I think he’s wild. But from the skillset, right now, I don’t see him being a world champ. But that could change, right, but his skill set right now, I don’t think it’s at the top, where it should be right now.”
Masvidal himself has competed for the welterweight world title on two occasions and is currently No.8-ranked in the world after three consecutive losses. He was beaten over a five-round decision by champion Kamaru Usman in 2020, and was given a rematch in 2021 having taken the fight on short notice.
Usman brutally knocked him out in their second meeting, before he returned to the octagon this year against old friend-turned-rival Colby Covington. The renowned wrestler thoroughly out-grappled Masvidal and won a lopsided decision in their pay-per-view bout.
